— nr-n, 


OF  THE 

U  N  I  VERS  ITY 
Of  ILLI  NOIS 


1320 


The  person  charging  this  material  is  re¬ 
sponsible  for  its  return  to  the  library  from 
which  it  was  withdrawn  on  or  before  the 
Latest  Date  stamped  below. 

Theft,  mutilation,  and  underlining  of  books 
are  reasons  for  disciplinary  action  and  may 
result  in  dismissal  from  the  University. 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS  LIBRARY  AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


m  km 

40  v  8  m 


ay  \  9  197? 


NOV  2  0  281 


L161  —  0-1096 


A  Hillside  Street  in  Roman  Jerusalem  along  which  Jesus  and  the  Disciples  may  well 

have  walked  ( after  Germer-Durand). 

— Frontispiece. 


Clrmt  3Fmt&  look.  No.  IT 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND 
THE  BIBLE 


BY 

GEORGE  A.  BARTON,  Ph.  D.,  LL.  D. 

PROFESSOR  OF  BIBLICAL  LITERATURE  AND  SEMITIC  LANGUAGES 
IN  BRYN  MAWR  COLLEGE;  SOMETIME  DIRECTOR  OF  THE 
AMERICAN  SCHOOL  OF  ORIENTAL  RESEARCH  IN  JERUSALEM 


PART  I 

THE  BIBLE  LANDS,  THEIR  EXPLORATION,  AND  THE  RESULTANT 
LIGHT  ON  THE  BIBLE  AND  HISTORY 

PART  II 

TRANSLATIONS  OF  ANCIENT  DOCUMENTS  WHICH  CONFIRM  OR 
ILLUMINATE  THE  BIBLE 


PHILADELPHIA 

AMERICAN  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  UNION 

1816  Chestnut  Street 


Copyright,  igi6,  by 
American  Sunday-School  Union 


All  rights  vested  in  and  reserved  by 
American  Sunday-School  Union 


First  Edition,  May,  1916. 
Second  Edition,  June,  1917. 
Third  Edition,  June,  1920. 


<3^0.  ^ 3 
B  <R%  tu 
J<?JO 


To 

CAROLINE  B.  D.  BARTON 

Faithful  Comrade  in 
the  Campaign  of  Life 


* 


PREFACE 


For  a  hundred  years  or*  more  the  explorer  and  the  excavator 
have  been  busy  in  many  parts  of  the  world.  They  have  brought 
to  light  monuments  and  texts  that  have  in  many  cases  revolution¬ 
ized  our  conceptions  of  history  and  have  in  other  cases  thrown 
much  new  light  on  what  was  previously  known. 

In  no  part  of  the  world  have  these  labors  been  more  fruitful  than 
in  the  lands  of  the  Bible.  In  Egypt  and  Babylonia  vistas  of  history 
have  been  opened  to  view  that  were  undreamed  of  before  explora¬ 
tion  began.  The  same  is  true  for  that  part  of  the  history  of  Pales¬ 
tine  which  antedates  the  coming  of  Israel.  Information  has  also 
been  obtained  which  illumines  later  portions  of  the  history,  and 
makes  the  Biblical  narrative  seem  much  more  vivid.  It  is  now 
possible  to  make  real  to  oneself  the  details  of  the  life  of  the  Biblical 
heroes,  and  to  understand  the  problems  of  their  world  as  formerly 
one  could  not  do.  Exploration  has  also  brought  to  light  many 
inscriptions  in  the  various  countries  that  confirm  or  illuminate  the 
traditions,  history,  poetry,  and  prophecy  of  the  Bible.  The  sands 
of  Egypt  have  even  yielded  us  some  reputed  new  sayings  of  our 
Lord. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  book  to  gather  into  one  volume  the  most 
valuable  information  of  all  sorts  that  the  excavations  in  Bible  lands 
have  afforded,  and  to  put  it  in  such  form  that  it  may  be  of  service 
to  the  pastor  and  Sunday-school  teacher.  An  attempt  has  been 
made  so  to  present  the  material  that  one  may  not  only  have  the 
wealth  of  illumination  for  Biblical  study  that  exploration  has  pro¬ 
duced,  but  also  that  he  may  possess  an  outline  of  the  history  of  the 
exploration  and  of  the  countries  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  place 
each  item  in  its  proper  perspective.  Whether  in  handling  so  large 
a  mass  of  data  the  writer  has  achieved  his  aim,  the  reader  must 
judge.  The  preparation  of  the  volume  was  undertaken  at  the 
request  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  American  Sunday-School 
Union,  for  publication  under  the  John  C.  Green  Income  Fund, — 
a  fund  founded  in  1877  “for  the  purpose  of  aiding  ...  in  secur- 


v 


VI 


PREFACE 


ing  a  Sunday-school  literature  of  the  highest  order  of  merit  .  .  . 
by  procuring  works  .  .  .  germane  to  the  objects  of  the  Society.” 
The  foundation  requires  that  the  manuscripts  procured  by  the  fund 
shall  become  the  exclusive  property  of  the  American  Sunday- 
School  Union,  and,  that  the  selling  price  may  be  reduced,  the 
Society  is  prohibited  from  including  the  cost  of  the  manuscript 
in  the  price  of  the  book. 

This  work  is  confined  to  those  phases  of  archaeology  upon  which 
light  has  been  thrown  by  exploration.  No  attempt  is  made,  for  ex¬ 
ample,  to  treat  the  constitution  of  the  Hebrew  family,  or  the  dress 
worn  in  ancient  Palestine,  for  these  are  subjects  to  which  explora¬ 
tion  has  contributed  no  new  knowledge. 

The  texts  published  in  Part  II  have,  with  few  exceptions,  been 
freshly  translated  by  the  writer  especially  for  this  work.  This 
is  true  of  all  except  the  majority  of  the  Egyptian  texts  and  two 
Greek  papyri  which  were  not  accessible  in  the  original.  Transla¬ 
tions  of  these  were  taken  from  the  works  of  well-known  scholars, 
to  each  of  whom  credit  is  given  in  connection  with  the  passage 
quoted  from  his  work.  The  quotations  of  Palestinian  place  names 
from  the  inscriptions  of  the  Egyptian  kings,  of  which  the  writer  has 
made  a  special  study,  are  based  on  his  own  translations  of  the 
originals. 

An.  archaeological  fact,  or  a  text  brought  to  light  by  excavation, 
is  often  of  little  significance  apart  from  its  interpretation,  and  the 
interpretation  of  such  data  frequently  varies  according  to  the 
point  of  view  occupied  by  the  interpreter.  As  stated  in  the  fore¬ 
word  of  Part  II,  it  has  been  the  writer’s  aim  throughout  to  main¬ 
tain  a  neutral  attitude  on  controverted  points. 

Not  the  least  service  that  archaeology  has  rendered  has  been  the 
presentation  of  a  new  background  against  which  the  inspiration  of 
the  Biblical  writers  stands  out  in  striking  vividness.  Often  one 
finds  traditions  in  Babylonia  identical  with  those  embodied  in  the 
Old  Testament,  but  they  are  so  narrated  that  no  such  conception  of 
God  shines  through  them  as  shines  through  the  Biblical  narrative. 
Babylonians  and  Egyptians  pour  out  their  hearts  in  psalms  with 
something  of  the  same  fervor  and  pathos  as  the  Hebrews,  but  no 
such  vital  conception  of  God  and  his  oneness  gives  shape  to  their 
faith  and  brings  the  longed-for  strength  to  the  spirit.  Egyptian 
sages  developed  a  social  conscience  comparable  in  many  respects 
with  that  of  the  Hebrew  prophets,  but  they  lacked  the  vital  touch 


PREFACE 


vn 


of  religious  devotion  which  took  the  conceptions  of  the  prophets  out 
of  the  realm  of  individual  speculation  and  made  them  the  working 
ethics  of  a  whole  people.  Archaeology  thus  reinforces  to  the  modern 
man  with  unmistakable  emphasis  the  ancient  words,  “Men  spake 
from  God,  being  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit”  (2  Peter  1  :  21). 

The  writer  is  under  obligation  to  all  his  predecessors.  Endeavor 
has  been  made  in  the  footnotes  to  acknowledge  each  individual 
obligation.  Lest  any  oversight  may  have  occurred  there,  he  would 
here  express  both  his  indebtedness  and  his  gratitude  to  all  who  by 
their  various  explorations  and  studies  have  preceded  him  and  been 
his  teachers. 

Of  these,  Prof.  R.  A.  Stewart  Macalister  should,  perhaps,  be 
singled  out  for  an  especial  word  of  gratitude,  for  in  Chapters  VI-XI 
of  Part  I  his  work  of  excavation  has  been  quoted  more  frequently 
than  any  other.  This  apparent  partiality  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
Gezer  was  excavated  more  completely  than  any  other  Palestinian 
site;  that,  because  of  its  early  and  long-continued  occupation  in 
ancient  times,  it  reveals  a  great  variety  of  civilizations;  and  that,  in 
The  Excavation  of  Gezer ,  Prof.  Macalister  has  presented  the  results 
of  his  work  with  a  completeness  and  a  degree  of  intelligibility  that 
no  other  excavator  in  Palestine  has  approached.  He  has  made  his 
work  a  model  of  what  such  a  publication  should  be,  and  has  thereby 
made  us  all  his  debtors. 

Especial  thanks  are  due  to  Dr.  George  B.  Gordon,  Director  of  the 
University  Museum,  Philadelphia,  for  his  kindness  in  furnishing  an 
advance  copy  of  the  proof-sheets  of  Volume  X  of  the  Publications 
of  the  Babylonian  Section  of  the  museum,  from  which  the  material 
embodied  in  Chapter  VIII  of  Part  II  was  translated,  and  to  Prof. 
Morris  Jastrow,  Jr.,  and  Dr.  Edward  Chiera  for  the  benefit  of  their 
fresh  collation  of  the  text.  This  was  of  considerable  importance, 
since  Dr.  Langdon’s  copy  of  large  portions  of  it  had  been  made 
from  photographs,  rather  than  from  the  original  tablet.  The 
writer  is  also  indebted  to  Prof.  W.  R.  Arnold,  of  Andover  Theo¬ 
logical  Seminary,  for  helpful  suggestions  concerning  the  interpreta¬ 
tion  of  a  passage  in  the  temple-papyrus  from  Elephantine  which 
has  hitherto  baffled  translators.  Thanks  are  also  due  to  the  fol¬ 
lowing  authors  and  publishers  for  permission  to  reproduce  illus¬ 
trations  contained  in  books  written  or  published  by  them:  The 
Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  for  permission  relating  to  Warren’s 
Jerusalem;  Bliss  and  Macalister’s  Excavations  in  Palestine,  1898- 


Vlll 


PREFACE 


1900;  Macalister’s  Excavation  of  Gezer,  and  Peters  and  Thiersch’s 
Painted  Tombs  of  Marissa;  Rev.  Prof.  C.  J.  Ball,  of  Oxford,  Light 
from  the  East;  J.  C.  Hinrichs’sche  Buchhandlung,  Koldewey’s 
Das  Wieder  Erstehende  Babylon;  Dr.  I.  Benzinger  and  Herr  Paul 
Siebeck,  Hebrdische  Archaologie;  Monsieur  J.  Gabalda,  Vincent’s 
Jerusalem ;  Prof.  A.  T.  Clay,  of  Yale,  Light  on  the  Old  Testament 
from  Babel;  Prof.  Paul  Haupt,  of  Johns  Hopkins,  The  Psalms  in 
his  Sacred  Books  of  the  Old  Testament;  Rev.  J.  P.  Peters  and  G.  P. 
Putnam’s  Sons,  Peters’  Nippur;  Prof.  C.  C.  Torrey,  of  Yale, 
Journal  of  the  American  Oriental  Society;  George  H.  Doran  Co., 
Ramsay’s  Letters  to  the  Seven  Churches  of  Asia;  Dr.  Mitchell  Carroll, 
American  Journal  of  Archceology  and  Art  and  Archaeology;  Rev.  A. 
E.  Breen,  Diary  of  My  Life  in  the  Holy  Land;  Thomas  Nelson  and 
Sons,  The  Illustrated  Teachers’  Bible;  and  to  Ferris  and  Leach,  for 
permission  to  use  again  a  number  of  photographs  published  in 
the  writer’s  A  Year’s  Wandering  in  Bible  Lands.  Dr.  R.  E.  Briin- 
now  not  only  granted  permission  to  reproduce  illustrations  from 
Briinnow  and  Domaszewski’s  Provincia  Arabia,  but  generously 
loaned  the  original  photographs  and  drawings.  Prof.  Harold  N. 
Fowler,  Editor  of  the  American  Journal  of  Archceology ,  also  kindly 
loaned  an  original  photograph  of  the  excavation  at  Sardis.  The 
source  of  each  illustration,  when  not  the  writer’s  own,  is  indicated 
in  the  list  of  illustrations  by  mentioning  the  name  of  the  author 
of  the  book  or  article  from  which  it  is  taken. 

Grateful  acknowledgment  should  also  be  made  to  Rev.  Edwin 
Wilbur  Rice,  D.  D.,  Litt.  D.,  Honorary  Editor  of  the  Publications 
of  the  American  Sunday-School  Union,  who  carefully  read  the  book 
in  manuscript  and  made  many  valuable  criticisms  and  suggestions. 

The  table  of  contents  and  the  chapter-headings  were  prepared 
by  James  McConaughy,  Litt.  D.,  Editor  of  the  Publications  of  the 
American  Sunday-School  Union;  the  indices,  by  A.  J.  R.  Schu- 
maker,  M.  A.,  Assistant  Editor.  The  writer  is  grateful  to  them, 
not  only  for  this  service,  but  for  many  helpful  criticisms  and  cour¬ 
tesies  while  the  book  has  been  passing  through  the  press.  Valuable 
suggestions  have  also  been  made  by  Mrs.  Barton,  who  has  carefully 
read  the  proofs.  Miss  Bertha  V.  Dreisbach  has  given  intelligent 
and  painstaking  service  in  preparing  the  manuscript  for  the  press, 
and  in  proof-reading;  Mr.  V.  Winfield  Challenger  and  Miss  Laura 
G.  Leach  have  rendered  a  like  valuable  service  in  assembling  and 
arranging  the  illustrations. 


PREFACE 


IX 


The  quotations  of  Scripture  passages  throughout  are  from  the 
American  Standard  Revised  Version. 

If  this  volume  should  bring  to  some  remote  worker  or  secluded 
young  person  a  tithe  of  the  inspiration  and  joy  that  such  a  book 
would  have  brought  the  writer  in  the  rural  home  of  his  boyhood,  he 
would  ask  no  higher  reward  for  the  labor  it  has  cost. 

George  A.  Barton. 

Bryn  Mawr,  Pa. 

May,  1916. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION 

It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  this  book  has  been  found  useful 
by  so  many  students  of  the  Bible  and  that  a  second  edition  is 
necessary.  Minor  errors,  especially  typographical,  have  been 
corrected  throughout  the  volume.  The  chief  feature  of  this 
edition  is  the  addition  of  an  Appendix,  in  which  will  be  found 
some  material  that  has  come  to  light  in  the  last  year,  and  one  or 
two  items  that  were  overlooked  when  the  first  edition  was  written. 

George  A.  Barton. 

Bryn  Mawr,  Pa. 

June,  1917. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  THIRD  EDITION 

The  writer  is  glad  that  students  of  the  Bible  still  find  sufficient 
use  for  this  volume  to  make  a  third  edition  of  it  desirable.  The 
preparation  of  such  an  edition  has  afforded  him  opportunity  to  im¬ 
prove  the  translations  of  the  Babylonian  texts  on  pages  283  ff.  and 
447  ff.  by  incorporating  such  new  renderings  as  the  published  dis- 


X 


PREFACE 


cussions  of  them  by  different  scholars  have  rendered  probable. 
On  pp.  452  ff.  two  new  items  have  been  added.  One  of  these  is  an 
old  Babylonian  seal  bearing  the  name  “Israel,”  the  other,  an  in¬ 
scription  from  the  mosaic  floor  of  a  Palestinian  Jewish  synagogue 
which  was  laid  bare  during  the  course  of  the  Great  War  by  the 
bursting  of  a  shell.  Two  new  illustrations  have  been  added  in 
order  to  present  these  to  the  eye. 

While  this  edition  was  passing  through  the  press  two  books  by 
Professor  Hrozny  on  the  decipherment  of  Hittite  came  to  hand. 
The  results  of  Professor  Hrozny’s  investigations  are  noted  on  pp. 
445  ff.  The  slight  relaxation,  brought  about  by  the  armistice,  of 
the  war  restrictions  against  trade  with  Germany  has  permitted  two 
volumes  of  cuneiform  texts  copied  from  tablets  found  at  Ashur  to 
reach  the  writer.  These  also  came  while  he  was  reading  the  proofs 
of  this  edition.  They  happily  supply  some  important  gaps  in  the 
text  of  the  Creation  Epic  published  in  Part  II,  Chapter  I  of  this 
book,  as  well  as  a  new  parallel  to  the  Song  of  Songs.  The  writer  is 
happy  thus  to  place  this  new  material  before  his  readers.  It  will 
be  found  at  the  end  of  the  Appendix.  Especially  important  is  the 
account  of  the  creation  of  man  in  Tablet  VI  of  the  Creation  Epic 
which  we  now  have  almost  in  its  entirety.  It  is  interesting  to  com¬ 
pare  this  with  still  another  Sumerian  account  of  the  creation  of  man 
found  on  a  tablet  from  Ashur,  which  is  also  presented  to  the  English 
reader  for  the  first  time  in  Section  X  of  the  Appendix. 

Perhaps  the  most  surprising  portion  of  this  new  material  is  the 
account  in  Tablet  VI  of  the  Creation  Epic,  translated  on  pp.  458 
and  459  of  how  man  fell  away  from  his  primeval  state  of  loyalty  to 
the  gods  and  was  brought  back  to  it  by  the  death  and  resurrection 
of  a  god.  Some  of  the  lines  describing  it  might  almost  have  been 
written  of  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ. 

George  A.  Barton. 

Bryn  Mawr,  Pa. 

June,  1920. 


CONTENTS 

PART  I 

Page 

List  of  Illustrations .  1 

Table  of  Signs .  9 

Introduction .  11 

Chapter 

I.  Egypt . 17 

The  Land.  The  Preservation  of  Antiquities.  Egyptian  Dis¬ 
coveries.  Decipherment.  Chronology.  Outline  of  the  History. 
Egyptian  Discoveries  which  bear  on  the  Bible. 

II.  Babylonia  and  Assyria .  40 

The  Land.  The  Preservation  of  Antiquities.  The  Discovery 
of  Antiquities.  The  Decipherment  of  the  Inscriptions.  Chro¬ 
nology.  Outline  of  the  History.  Discoveries  which  illumine  the 
Bible. 

III.  The  Hittites .  68 

A  Forgotten  Empire.  Hittite  Monuments.  Hittite  De¬ 
cipherment.  Hittite  History. 

IV.  Palestine  and  Its  Exploration .  83 

The  Land.  Early  Exploration.  Early  American  Explora¬ 
tions.  Palestine  Exploration  Fund.  The  German  Palestine 
Society.  The  American  School  at  Jerusalem.  Samaria.  Par¬ 
ker’s  Excavations  at  Jerusalem.  Latest  Excavations. 

V.  Outline  of  Palestine’s  Archeological  History .  103 

The  Early  Stone  Age.  The  Late  Stone  Age.  The  Amo  rites. 

The  Canaanites^  Egyptian  Domination. — The  Philistines. 

The  Hebrews.  Philistine  Civilization.  The  Hebrew  King¬ 
doms.  The  Exile  and  After.  The  Coming  of  Rome.  Later 
History. 

VI.  The  Cities  of  Palestine .  123 

Their  Sites.  The  Walls.  The  Stone  Work.  Houses.  Palaces. 
Foundation  Sac«ifices.  City  Gates.  Water  Supply. 

VII.  Roads  and  Agriculture .  132 

VIII.  Pottery . 1 .  141 

Importance  of  Pottery.  Pre-Semitic  Pottery.  First  Semitic 
Pottery  to  1800  b.  c.  Pottery  of  Second  Semitic  Period.  Third 
Semitic  Period.  Israelitish  or  Fourth  Semitic  Period.  Hellen¬ 
istic  Period. 

IX.  Utensils  and  Personal  Ornaments .  149 


xi 


XU 


CONTENTS 


Chapter  Page 

X.  Measures,  Weights,  and  Money .  158 

Measures.  Weights.  Inscribed  Weights.  Money. 

XI.  High  Places  and  Temples .  167 


A  Sanctuary  of  the  Pre-Semitic  Cave-Dwellers.  A  Rock-Altar 
at  Megiddo.  A  Rock-Altar  at  Jerusalem.  High  Place  at  Tell 
es-Safi.  High  Place  at  Gezer.  At  Taanach.  High  Places  at 
Petra.  A  Supposed  Philistine  Temple.  At  Megiddo.  The 
Temple  to  Augustus  at  Samaria. 

XII.  The  Tombs  of  Palestine .  179 

Burning  the  Dead.  Cave  Burials.  Cistern  Burial.  Burial 
under  Menhirs.  Earth-Graves.  Rock-Hewn  Shaft  Tombs. 
Doorway  Tombs.  Tombs  with  a  Rolling-Stone. 

XIII.  Jerusalem .  185 

Situation.  Gihon.  Cave-Dwellers.  The  El- Amarna  Period. 
Jebusite  Jerusalem.  The  City  of  David.  'Solomon’s  Jerusalem. 
From  Solomon  to  Hezekiah.  Hezekiah.  From  Hezekiah  to  the 
Exile.  The  Destruction  of  586  b.  c.  The  Second  Temple. 
Nehemiah  and  the  Walls.  Late  Persian  and  Early  Greek  Periods. 


In  the  Time  of  the  Maccabees.  Asmonaean  Jerusalem.  Herod 
the  Great.  The  Pool  of  Bethesda.  Gethsemane.  Calvary. 
Agrippa  I  and  the  Third  Wall. 

XIV.  The  Decapolis .  213 

Origin.  Damascus.  Scythopolis.  Cities  East  of  the  Sea  of 
Galilee.  Gadara.  Pella  and  Dion.  Gerasa.  Philadelphia. 
Jesus  in  the  Decapolis. 

XV.  Athens,  Corinth,  and  the  Churches  of  Asia .  219 


PART  II 

Chapter  Page 

I.  An  Epic  of  the  Creation  which  Circulated  in  Babylon  and 

Assyria  in  the  Seventh  Century  b.  c .  235 

Text  of  the  Epic.  Comparison  of  the  Epic  with  the  First 
Chapter  of  Genesis.  The  Epic  and  Other  Parts  of  the  Bible. 

II.  Another  Account  of  the  Creation  Found  at  Babylon .  255 

Text  of  the  Account.  Comparison  of  it  with  Genesis  2. 

III.  The  Babylonian  Sabbath . 258 

Feast  of  Marduk  and  Zarpanit.  A  Day  called  Shabatum. 

A  Day  in  Some  Tablets  at  Yale. 

IV.  The  Legend  of  Adapa  and  the  Fall  of  Man .  260 

Comparison  with  Genesis  3.  The  Adapa  Myth. 

V.  The  Patriarchs  before  the  Flood .  264 

Babylonian  Long-Lived  Kings.  Comparison  with  Genesis  5. 


Comparison  with  Genesis  4.  Comparison  with  the  List  of 
Berossos. 


CONTENTS 


•  •  • 

xm 

Chapter  Page 

VI.  A  Babylonian  Account  of  the  Flood,  from  a  Tablet  Writ¬ 
ten  at  Nineveh  in  the  Seventh  Century  b.  c .  273 

Translation  of  the  Text.  Comparison  with  Genesis  6-9. 
Another  Babylonian  Version. 

VII.  An  Account  of  the  Creation  and  Flood,  from  a  Tablet 

Written  at  Nippur  before  2000  b.  c .  278 

Translation.  Comparison  with  the  Other  Version. 

VIII.  An  Account  of  the  Origin  of  a  City  and  the  Beginning 
of  Agriculture,  from  a  Tablet  Written  at  Nippur 
before  2000  b.  c .  283 

Translation.  Comparison  with  Biblical  Material. 

IX.  Abraham  and  Archaeology .  290 

Abraham  hired  an  Ox.  Abraham  leased  a  Farm.  Abra¬ 
ham  paid  his  Rent.  Who  was  this  Abraham?  Travel 
between  Babylonia  and  Palestine.  Hammurapi,  King  of  the 
Westland.  Kadur-Mabug.  Kings  supposed  by  some  to  be 
those  of  Genesis  14. 

X.  Jacob  and  Joseph .  299 

Appearances  of  these  Names  in  Babylonian  and  Egyptian 
Records.  “The  Tale  of  the  Two  Brothers”;  its  Bearing  on 
the  Story  of  Joseph  in  Genesis.  Letters  to  a  Ruler  like 
Joseph.  The  Seven  Years  of  Famine.  Inscription  showing 
Preparation  for  Famine. 

XI.  Palestine  in  the  Patriarchal  Age .  307 

The  Tale  of  Sinuhe.  Communication  between  Egypt  and 
Palestine. 

XII.  Moses  and  the  Exodus .  310 

The  Legend  of  Sargon  of  Agade;  its  Resemblance  to  the 
Story  of  Moses.  The  Pillar  of  Merneptah;  the  Only  Appear¬ 
ance  of  the  Name  “Israel”  outside  of  the  Bible. 

XIII.  The  Code  of  Hammurapi  and  the  Pentateuch .  313 

The  Text  of  the  Code;  Resemblance  to  and  Contrast  with  the 
Mosaic  Code.  The  Mosaic  Code  not  borrowed  from  the 
Babylonian;  Different  Underlying  Conceptions. 

XIV.  An  Alleged  Parallel  to  Leviticus — a  Carthaginian  Law 

Concerning  Sacrifices .  342 

The  Text  of  the  Carthaginian  Law.  Comparison  with  the 
Levitical  Law. 

XV.  Some  Letters  from  Palestine .  344 

Letters  of  Rib- Adda  of  Gebal.  Of  Ebed-Hepa  of  Jerusalem. 
Their  Light  on  Conditions  in  the  Period  of  the  Egyptian 
Domination  of  Palestine. 

XVI.  Documents  from  the  Time  of  Israel’s  Judges .  352 

Report  of  Wenamon.  Its  Illustration  of  Certain  Points  of 
Biblical  History  about  the  Time  of  Deborah  or  Gideon.  Refer¬ 
ence  to  the  Philistines. 


XIV 


CONTENTS 


Chapter  Pag* 

XVII.  Archaeological  Light  on  the  Books  or  Kings . 358 


Gudea  and  Cedar-Wood  for  his  Palace.  The  Eponym 
Canon.  The  Seal  of  Shema.  Shishak’s  List  of  Conquered 
Asiatic  Cities.  AshurnasirpaPs  Description  of  his  Expedition 
to  Mediterranean  Lands.  Shalmaneser  Ill’s  Claims  regard¬ 
ing  Tribute  from  the  Kings  of  Israel.  The  Moabite  Stone. 
Adadnirari  IV’s  Mention  of  the  “Land  of  Omri.”  Inscription 
describing  Tiglathpileser  IV’s  Campaign.  Sargon’s  Con¬ 
quests.  Sennacherib’s  Western  Campaigns.  The  Siloam 
Inscription.  Esarhaddon’s  List  of  Conquered  Kings.  Ashur- 
banipal’s  Assyrian  Campaign.  Necho  of  Egypt.  Nebuchad¬ 
rezzar  II.  Evil-Merodach.  Discoveries  in  Sheba. 

XVIII.  The  End  of  the  Babylonian  Exile .  382 

Inscriptions  of  Nabuna’id;  their  Bearing  on  Biblical  State¬ 
ments  regarding  Belshazzar.  Account  of  the  Capture  of 
Babylon  bearing  on  the  Book  of  Daniel.  Inscription  of  Cyrus 
bearing  on  the  Capture  of  Babylon.  Cyrus’s  Permission  for 
the  Return  to  Jerusalem. 

XIX.  A  Jewish  Colony  in  Egypt  during  the  Time  of  Nehemiah.  387 

Papyri  Witness  to  the  Existence  of  a  Colony  at  Elephantine. 
Translation  of  a  Petition  relating  to  their  Temple.  Reply 
of  Persian  Governor.  Historical  Bearings  of  these  Docu¬ 
ments.  A  Letter  relating  to  the  Passover.  A  Letter  show¬ 
ing  that  the  Jews  were  Unpopular  at  Elephantine. 


XX.  A  Babylonian  Job .  392 

Translation  of  a  Poem  relating  to  the  Afflictions  of  a 
Good  Man.  Comparison  with  the  Book  of  Job.  A  Fragment 
of  Another  Similar  Poem. 

XXI.  Psalms  from  Babylonia  and  Egypt .  398 


Character  of  their  Psalms.  Babylonian  Prayers  to  the 
Goddess  Ishtar.  Comparison  with  the  Psalter.  A  Babylo¬ 
nian  Hymn  to  the  Moon-God.  A  Babylonian  Hymn  to  Bel. 

An  Egyptian  Hymn  to  the  Sun-God.  Is  the  Hymn  Monothe¬ 
istic?  An  Egyptian  Hymn  in  Praise  of  Aton.  Comparison 
with  the  Psalter. 

XXII.  Parallels  to  Proverbs  and  Ecclesiastes .  407 

The  Nature  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  and  the  Parallels. 
Babylonian  Proverbs  from  the  Library  of  Ashurbanipal. 
Precepts  from  the  Library  of  Ashurbanipal.  Comparison  with 
the  Bible.  Egyptian  Precepts  of  Ptahhotep.  Comparison 
with  the  Bible.  Parallel  to  Ecclesiastes  from  the  Gilgamesh 
Epic. 


XXIII.  Egyptian  Parallels  to  the  Song  of  Songs .  413 

Nature  of  the  Song  of  Songs.  Translation  of  Some  Egyptian 
Love-Poems.  Comparison  with  Biblical  Passages. 

XXIV.  Illustrations  of  Passages  in  the  Prophets .  417 

Uniqueness  of  the  Prophetic  Books.  An  Assyrian  Pro¬ 
phetic  Vision.  Comparison  with  the  Bible.  The  Egyptian 


CONTENTS 


xv 


Chapter  Page 

Social  Conscience.  Tale  of  the  Eloquent  Peasant.  Compari¬ 
son  with  the  Bible.  An  Ideal  King;  Extract  from  the  Admo¬ 
nitions  of  Ipuwer.  Comparison  with  Messianic  Expectations. 
Sheol.  Ishtar’s  Descent  to  the  Underworld.  Comparison 
with  Prophetic  Passages.  A  Lamentation  for  Tammuz. 

XXV.  Reputed  Sayings  of  Jesus  Found  in  Egypt .  428 

Early  Collections  of  the  Words  of  Jesus.  Translation  of 
Sayings  found  in  1897.  Comments.  Translation  of  a  Leaf 
found  in  1904.  Comments.  Opinions  as  to  these  Sayings. 

XXVI.  Archaeological  Light  on  the  Enrolment  of  Quirinius  . . .  432 

Translation  of  a  Papyrus  showing  that  in  the  Second  Cen¬ 
tury  Enrolment  was  made  Every  Fourteen  Years.  Com¬ 
ments.  Translation  referring  to  an  Enrolment  in  the  Reign  of 
Nero.  Fragment  from  the  Reign  of  Tiberius.  Enrolments 
probably  inaugurated  by  Augustus.  Document  showing  that 
People  went  to  their  own  towns  for  Enrolment.  Inscrip¬ 
tion  supposed  to  refer  to  Quirinius.  Inscription  from  Asia 
Minor  referring  to  Quirinius.  Discussion.  Conclusions. 

XXVII.  Archaeological  Light  on  the  Acts  and  Epistles .  438 

The  Politarchs  of  Thessalonica.  An  Altar  to  Unknown 
Gods.  An  Inscription  from  Delphi  and  the  Date  of  Paul’s 
Contact  with  Gallio.  Some  Epistles  from  Egypt.  Inscrip¬ 
tions  mentioning  Aretas,  King  of  Arabia. 

Appendix . . . . . . . 445 

Discoveries  at  Carchemish.  Hrozny’s  Decipherment  of 
Hittite.  Discoveries  at  Jerusalem  and  Balata.  A  New 
Babylonian  Account  of  the  Creation  of  Man.  Reports  of 
Commanders  of  Egyptian  Frontier-Fortresses  Relating  to  the 
Entrance  of  Asiatics  into  Egypt  in  Time  of  Famine.  Sup¬ 
posed  Trace  of  the  Ten  Lost  Tribes  in  Mesopotamia.  Dis¬ 
covery  of  the  Name  “Israel”  in  Babylonia.  Inscription  on 
the  Floor  of  a  Synagogue.  Recently  Discovered  Portions  of 
the  Babylonian  Creation  Epic.  Another  Sumerian  Account 
of  the  Creation  of  Man.  A  Babylonian  Song  of  Songs. 


Index  of  Scripture  Passages .  467 

Index .  473 

Illustrations:  Plates  1-114. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

A  Hillside  Street  in  Roman  Jerusalem  along  which  Jesus  and  the 

Disciples  may  well  have  walked . Frontispiece. 

Figure  Plate 

1  Syrian  Traders  in  Egypt,  from  a  Tomb  at  Beni  Hasan  ( after  Ball ) . .  1 

2  Crown  of  Lower  Egypt .  1 

3  Crown  of  Upper  Egypt .  1 

4  Crown  of  United  Egypt .  1 

5  Sphinx  and  Pyramid  of  Khafre .  1 

6  Pyramids  of  Khufu  and  Khafre .  2 

7  Step  Pyramid  of  Zoser .  2 

8  Body  from  a  Pre-dynastic  Tomb .  3 

9  Head  of  the  Mummy  of  Ramses  II .  3 

10  A  Store-Chamber  at  Pithom  ( after  Naville ) .  4 

11  Ancient  and  Modern  Brick-Making  (after  Petrie) .  4 

12  Plan  of  City  and  Temple  of  Leontopolis  ( after  Petrie) .  5 

13  A  Passover-Oven  ( after  Petrie ) .  5 

14  The  Rosetta  Stone  ( after  Thomas  Nelson  and  Sons) .  6 

15  The  “Israel”  Inscription  of  Merneptah .  6 

16  Mounds  of  Nuffar  ( after  Clay) .  7 

17  Excavation  at  Nuffar  ( after  Clay) .  7 

18  Gate  of  Ishtar,  Babylon  ( after  Koldewey) .  8 

19  Phalanx  of  Soldiers  from  Eannatum’s  “Stele  of  Vultures” .  8 

20  Inscribed  Column  from  Persepolis .  9 

21  Silver  Vase  of  Entemena .  9 

22  Mound  of  Birs  Nimrud  ( after  Peters) .  9 

23  Hittite  Gates  at  Boghaz  Koi  ( after  Puchstein) .  10 

24  Hittite  Types  from  Egyptian  Monuments  ( after  Garstang) .  10 

25  A  Hittite  King  ( after  Puchstein) .  11 

26  The  Boss  of  Tarkondemos .  .  . .  11 

27  The  Seal  of  Shema,  Servant  of  Jeroboam .  11 

28  Tell  el-Hesy  after  Excavation .  12 

29  The  Site  of  the  Old  Testament  Jericho .  12 

30  Excavation  of  Gezer .  13 

31  Remains  of  a  Colonnaded  Street  at  Samaria .  13 

32  Excavation  at  Tell  Hum . 14 

33  Egyptians  Attacking  a  Palestinian  City  ( after  Perrot  and  Chipiez) .  .  14 

34  Israelitish  Jericho  (after  Sellin) .  15 

35  Israelitish  Houses  at  Jericho  (after  Sellin) .  15 

36  Philistines  from  the  Palace  of  Ramses  III .  16 


1 


2 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Figure  Plate 

37  Canaanitish  Fortress  at  Jericho  ( after  Sellin ) .  16 

38  Inscribed  Disc  from  Phaestos  (one-fourth  actual  size) .  17 

39  Gebel  Fureidis .  17 

40  Bastion  for  the  Protection  of  an  Inserted  Tower  ( after  Macalister).. .  18 

41  Remains  of  Walls  of  Megiddo  (after  Schumacher) . . . . .  18 

42  Walls  of  Buildings  at  Samaria  (after  Reisner ) .  19 

43  Specimens  of  Stone-Work  at  Gezer  (after  Macalister ) .  19 

44  Building-Bricks  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister ) .  19 

45  Plan  of  Palace  at  Taanach  (after  Sellin) .  20 

46  The  Great  City  Wall  at  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  20 

47  Israeli tish  Houses  at  Gezer .  21 

48  Specimens  of  Mosaic  Floors  (after  Macalister) .  21 

49  A  Doorway  at  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  22 

50  Door-Sockets  from  Gezer  ( after  Macalister) .  22 

51  Supposed  House  of  Hiel,  Jericho  (after  Sellin) .  23 

52  Foundation  of  the  Palace  of  Omri,  Samaria  (after  Reisner) .  23 

53  Hebrew  Palace  at  Megiddo  (after  Schumacher) .  23 

54  Plan  of  the  Maccabaean  Castle  at  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  24 

55  Stone-Work  of  the  Maccabaean  Castle  (after  Macalister) .  24 

56  A  Foundation-Deposit,  Gezer  (after  Macalister) . • .  24 

57  A  City  Gate  at  Megiddo  (after  Schumacher) .  25 

58  The  South  Gate  at  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  25 

59  The  South  Gate  at  Beth-shemesh  (after  Mackenzie) .  25 

60  Entrance  to  the  Underground  Tunnel  at  Gezer  (after  Macalister). ...  26 

61  The  North  Gate  at  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  26 

62  Plans  of  the  Underground  Tunnel  at  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  27 

63  Plan  of  Underground  Tunnel  at  Gibeon  (after  Abel) .  28 

64  One  of  Solomon’s  Pools .  28 

65  Post  of  City  Gate,  Samaria  (after  Reisner) .  29 

66  Part  of  City  Wall  and  Gate,  Samaria  (after  Reisner) .  29 

67  Road  South  of  Gerizim .  30 

68  Lines  of  Roman  Roads  at  Tell  el-Ful .  30 

69  Roman  Road  North  of  Amman .  30 

70  A  Granary  at  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  31 

71  Some  Roman  Mile-Stones . .  31 

72  Plan  of  a  Granary  at  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  31 

73  A  Hoe  (after  Macalister) .  32 

74  An  Egyptian  Reaping  (after  Wreszinski) .  32 

75  A  Sickle  (after  Wreszinski) .  32 

76  Plowshares  from  Megiddo  (after  Schumacher) .  32 

77  Egyptian  Plowing  (after  Wilkinson) .  33 

78  A  Modern  Threshing-Floor .  33 

79  Egyptians  Threshing  and  Winnowing  (after  Wilkinson) .  33 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  3 

Figure  Plate 

80  Egyptian  Threshing-Sledge  ( after  Wilkinson) .  33 

81  A  Saddle-Quern  from  Megiddo  (after  Schumacher ) .  34 

82  A  Rotary-Quern  ( after  Macalister) .  34 

83  A  Mortar  and  Pestle  ( after  Macalister) . 34 

84  Two  Women  Grinding  at  a  Mill  ( after  Schumacher) .  34 

85  An  Ancient  Olive-Press  ( after  Macalister) .  35 

86  A  Modern  Olive-Press  (after  Macalister) .  35 

87  A  Wine  Vat  (after  Macalister) .  36 

88  An  Olive-Press  at  Work  (after  Macalister) .  36 

89  Cows’  Horns  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  37 

90  Animals’  Heads  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  37 

91  A  Horse’s  Bit  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  37 

92  Drawings  of  Horses  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  37 

93  A  Clay  Bird  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  38 

94  A  Cock  from  Marissa  (after  Peters  and  Thiersch) .  38 

95  A  Bee-Hive  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  38 

96  Pre-Semitic  Jars  (after  Macalister) .  39 

97  Pre-Semitic  Pottery  (after  Macalister) .  39 

98  Four  Pitchers  from  the  First  Semitic  Stratum  (after  Macalister) .  39 

99  Three  Pitchers  from  the  First  Semitic  Stratum  (after  Macalister). ...  39 

100  A  Jar  from  the  First  Semitic  Stratum  (after  Macalister) .  39 

101  Jugs  from  the  Second  Semitic  Stratum  (after  Macalister) .  40 

102  A  Jug  from  the  Second  Semitic  Stratum  (after  Macalister) .  40 

103  A  Jar  from  the  Second  Semitic  Stratum  (after  Macalister) .  40 

104  Some  Fine  Pottery  from  the  First  Semitic  Stratum  (after  Macalister)  41 

105  “Ear”  and  “Button”  Jar-Handles  (after  Macalister) .  41 

106  A  “Pillar”  Handle  (after  Macalister) .  41 

107  A  Flat-bottomed  Jug  (after  Macalister) .  41 

108  A  Painted  Philistine  Vase  from  Beth-shemesh  (after  Mackenzie)...  42 

109  War-Scene  on  Potsherd  from  Megiddo  (after  Schumacher) .  42 

110  Jars  of  Third  Semitic  Stratum  from  Beth-shemesh  (after  Mackenzie)  42 

111  Hebrew  Pottery  from  Megiddo  (after  Schumacher) .  42 

112  Hebrew  Jars  and  Pitchers  from  Jericho  (after  Sellin) .  43 

113  Hebrew  Pitchers  and  Bowls  from  Jericho  (after  Sellin) .  43 

114  A  Funnel  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  44 

115  A  Potter’s  Seal  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  44 

116  An  Inscribed  Hebrew  Jar-Stamp  from  the  Shephelah  (after  Bliss  and 

Macalister) . : .  44 

117  Hebrew  Pottery  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  44 

118  A  Scarab  used  as  a  Jar-Stamp  (after  Macalister) .  45 

119  A  Jar-Handle  Stamped  with  a  Scarab  (after  Macalister) .  45 

120  A  Jar  with  Tapering  Base  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  45 

121  Hellenistic  Filter  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  45 


4 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Figure  Plate 

122  Hellenistic  Pottery  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister ) .  45 

123  Hellenistic  Strainer  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister ) .  46 

124  Roman  Pots  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister ) .  46 

125  Hellenistic  Jar  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister ) . 46 

126  A  Lamp  of  the  First  Semitic  Period,  Megiddo  (after  Schumacher) .. . .  46 

127  Lamps  from  the  Second  Semitic  Period,  Gezer  (after  Macalister ) ....  47 

128  Lamps  from  the  Israelitish  Period,  Gezer  (after  Macalister ) .  47 

129  A  Byzantine  Lamp  from  Jericho  (after  Sellin ) .  47 

130  A  Lamp  bearing  a  Christian  Legend  (after  Macalister ) .  47 

131  Hellenistic  Lamps  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister ) .  48 

132  Hebrew  Lamps  from  Jericho  (after  Sellin) .  48 

133  Ovens  found  at  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  49 

134  A  Baking-Tray  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  49 

135  Bronze  Dishes  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  49 

136  Shell  Spoons  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  49 

137  Silver  Dishes  from  a  Philistine  Grave  at  Gezer  (after  Macalister) . ...  50 

138  Glass  Ointment  Vessels  from  Gezer  (after  M acalister) .  50 

139  Feeding-Bottles  (?),  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  51 

140  Forks  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  51 

141  Philistine  Silver  Ladle,  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  51 

142  Bronze  Needles  and  Pins  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  51 

143  Bone  Needles  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  52 

144  Modern  Woman  Spinning .  52 

145  Spindle  Whorls  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  52 

146  A  Large  Key  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  52 

147  A  Smaller  Key  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  52 

148  Lamp-Stands  from  Megiddo  (after  Schumacher) .  53 

149  Flint  Knives  from  Jericho  (after  Sellin) .  53 

150  Iron  Knives  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  54 

151  Bronze  Knives  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  54 

152  A  Chisel  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  55 

153  A  File  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  55 

154  A  Cone  of  Flint  for  making  Knives,  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  55 

155  A  Bronze  Hammer-Head,  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  55 

156  A  Fish-Hook,  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  55 

157  A  Bone  Awl-Handle  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  55 

158  Whetstones  from  Jericho  (after  Sellin) .  55 

159  Nails  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  55 

160  Axe-Heads  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  56 

161  Carpenters’  Tools  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  56 

162  A  Scimitar  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  57 

163  Impression  of  a  Basket  on  Mud,  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  57 

164  Flint  Arrow-Heads  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  57 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  5 

Figure  Plate 

165  Bronze  Arrow-Heads  from  Gezer  ( after  M acalister ) .  57 

166  Bronze  Swords  from  Gezer  (after  M acalister) .  58 

167  Bronze  Spear-Heads,  Gezer  (after  M acalister) .  58 

168  A  Pipe  from  Gezer  (after  M acalister) .  59 

169  An  Egyptian  Harp  (after  Haupt) .  59 

170  An  Assyrian  Upright  Harp  (after  Haupt) .  59 

171  An  Assyrian  Horizontal  Harp  (after  Haupt) .  59 

172  A  Babylonian  Harp  (after  Haupt) .  59 

173  Jewish  Harps  on  Coins  of  Bar  Cocheba,  132-135  a.  d.  (after  Madden)  59 

174  Assyrian  Dulcimer  (after  Haupt) .  59 

175  Seals  from  Gezer  (after  M acalister) .  60 

176  A  Comb  from  Gezer  (after  M acalister) .  60 

177  Toys  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  60 

178  Styli  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  60 

179  Children’s  Rattles  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  60 

180  A  Perfume-Box,  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  61 

181  A  Necklace  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  61 

182  Bracelets  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  61 

183  Spatulae  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  61 

184  Rings  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  61 

185  Supposed  Hebrew  Measures  from  Jerusalem  (after  Germer-Durand) . .  62 

186  A  Neseph  Weight .  63 

187  A  Payim  Weight  belonging  to  Haverford  College .  63 

188  A  Beqa  Weight  (after  Toney) .  63 

189  A  “Daric”  of  Darius  (after  Benzinger) .  63 

190  A  Tetradrachma  of  Alexander  the  Great  (after  Benzinger) .  63 

191  A  Coin  of  Ptolemy  Lagi  (after  Benzinger) .  63 

192  Half-Shekel  of  Simon  the  Maccabee  (after  Benzinger) .  64 

193  A  Coin  of  John  Hyrcanus  (after  Madden) .  64 

194  Tetradrachma  of  Lysimachus .  64 

195  A  Coin  of  Augustus .  64 

196  A  Denarius  of  Tiberius .  64 

197  A  Coin  of  Claudius .  64 

198  A  Coin  of  Herod  the  Great .  64 

199  A  Roman  Quadrans  (?) .  64 

200  A  Coin  of  Herod  Agrippa  1 .  64 

201  A  Shekel  of  the  Revolt  of  a.  d.  70 .  64 

202  Cave-Dwellers’  Place  of  Sacrifice,  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  65 

203  Plan  of  Caves  at  Semitic  High  Place,  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  65 

204  “Pillars”  of  the  High  Place  at  Gezer .  65 

205  Rock-Altar  at  Megiddo  (after  Schumacher) .  66 

206  The  “Beth-el”  of  Gezer  (after  M acalister) .  66 

207  The  Supposed  Serpent-Pen  at  Gezer  (after  Macalister) .  66 


6  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Figure  Plate 

208  The  Rock- Altar  at  Jerusalem  ( after  Dolman ) .  67 

209  The  Laver  at  Gezer  ( after  Macalister) .  67 

210  The  Terra-cotta  Altar  from  Taanach  {after  Sellin ) .  68 

211  Supposed  High  Place  at  Taanach  {after  Sellin ) .  68 

212  High  Place  at  Tell  es-Safi.  {after  Bliss  and  Macalister) . 69 

213  Libation  Bowl  from  Taanach  {after  Sellin) .  69 

214  An  Astarte  Plaque  from  Gezer  {after  Macalister) .  69 

215  Plan  of  the  High  Place  at  Petra  {after  Briinnow) .  70 

216  Plan  of  Herod’s  Temple  at  Samaria  {after  Lyon) .  70 

217  The  Altar  at  Petra  {after  Briinnow) .  71 

218  The  “Round  Altar”  at  Petra  {after  Briinnow) .  71 

219  Supposed  “Pillars”  at  Petra  {after  Briinnow) .  71 

219a  A  Brazen  Serpent  from  Gezer  {after  Macalister) .  72 

220  Plan  of  Supposed  Semitic  Temple  at  Gezer  {after  Macalister) .  72 

221  Walls  of  Herod’s  Temple,  Samaria  {after  Reisner) .  72 

222  “Pillars”  of  a  Supposed  Temple,  Gezer  {after  Macalister) .  73 

223  Chapel  of  the  Palace  at  Megiddo  {after  Schumacher) .  73 

224  Voluted  Capital  (probably  Philistine)  from  Megiddo(a/ter  Schumacher)  74 

225  Incense-Burner  from  Megiddo  {after  Schumacher) .  74 

226  Philistine  Graves,  Gezer  {after  Macalister) .  75 

227  A  Rock-hewn  Tomb  at  Siloam  {after  Benzinger) .  75 

228  A  Shaft-Tomb  {after  Bliss  and  Macalister) .  75 

229  A  Cistern-Burial  at  Gezer  {after  Macalister) .  75 

230  A  Columbarium  at  Petra  {after  Dolman) .  76 

231  Entrance  to  the  Tomb  of  the  Judges .  76 

232  A  Sunken-Door  Tomb  {after  Mitt.  u.  Nach.  d.  Deutsch.  Paldstina- 

Vereins) .  77 

233  Kokim  in  the  Tomb  of  the  Judges .  77 

234  Plan  of  a  Hellenistic  Tomb  at  Marissa  {after  Peters  and  Thiersch).  .  78 

235  A  Cross-Section  of  the  Tomb  of  the  Judges .  78 

236  Architectural  Decoration  of  a  Hellenistic  Tomb  at  Marissa  {after 

Peters  and  Thiersch) .  79 

237  Plan  of  the  Upper  Floor  of  the  Tomb  of  the  Judges .  79 

238  A  Tomb  with  a  Rolling-Stone  at  Beit  Jibrin  {after  Moulton) .  80 

239  Interior  of  a  Hellenistic  Tomb  at  Marissa  {after  Peters  and 

Thiersch) . 80 

240  The  Hills  and  Valleys  of  Jerusalem  {after  Vincent) .  81 

241  Underground  Jebusite  Tunnel  at  Gihon,  Jerusalem  {after  Vincent).. .  82 

242  Maudsley’s  Scarp,  Jerusalem .  82 

243  Plan  of  Solomon’s  Buildings,  Jerusalem  {after  Stade) .  83 

244  Phoenician  Quarry-Marks,  Jerusalem  {after  Warren) .  83 

245  Shaft  at  the  Southeast  Corner  of  the  Temple  Area  {after  Warren) ...  84 

246  Examining  Ancient  Walls  in  an  Underground  Tunnel  {after  Warren).  84 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  7 

Figure  Plate 

247  Front  Views  of  Solomon’s  Temple  ( after  Stade ) .  85 

248  Side  Views  of  Solomon’s  Temple  ( after  Slade ) .  85 

249  Plan  of  Solomon’s  Temple  ( after  Stade) .  86 

250  The  Seven-branched  Lamp-Stand  from  the  Arch  of  Titus .  86 

251  The  Brazen  Laver  of  Solomon’s  Temple  ( after  Stade) .  87 

252  A  Portable  Laver  of  Solomon’s  Temple  {after  Stade) .  87 

253  Stone-Work  of  a  Wall  of  Jerusalem  built  in  the  Fifth  Century  A.  d...  88 

254  Stone-Work  in  Nehemiah’s  Wall,  Jerusalem .  88 

255  Restoration  of  the  Asmonaean  Bridge  over  the  Tyropoeon  Valley 

(after  Hanauer) .  89 

256  Front  of  “David’s  Tower”  (Herod’s  Palace)  Today  ( after  Breen).. . .  89 

257  Reconstruction  of  Herod’s  Temple  ( after  Caldecott) .  90 

258  “Solomon’s  Stables” .  90 

259  One  of  the  Supposed  Pools  of  Bethesda  (after  Hanauer) .  91 

260  Front  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher .  91 

261  “Gordon’s  Calvary,”  looking  toward  Jerusalem  ( after  Breen) .  92 

262  “Gordon’s  Calvary,”  from  the  City  Wall  (after  Breen) .  92 

263  Outside  of  “Gordon’s  Holy  Sepulcher”  ( after  Breen) .  93 

264  Inside  of  “  Gordon’s  Holy  Sepulcher  ”  (after  Breen) .  93 

265  The  Barada  (Abana),  Damascus .  94 

266  The  Street  Called  Straight,  Damascus .  94 

267  Palace  at  Kanatha  (after  Briinnow) .  95 

268  Circular  Forum  and  Colonnaded  Street,  Gerasa .  95 

269  Temple  of  the  Sun,  Gerasa .  96 

270  Site  of  Rabbah  Ammon .  96 

271  Theater  at  Amman  (Palestinian  Philadelphia) .  97 

272  Roman  Forum  at  Athens .  97 

273  Mars’  Hill,  Athens .  98 

274  Fountain  in  the  Agora,  Corinth .  98 

275  Lintel  of  Jewish  Synagogue,  Corinth  (after  Richardson) .  99 

276  Lechaeum  Road,  Corinth  (after  Richardson) .  99 

277  Parthenon,  Athens,  from  the  East .  100 

278  Main  Street  at  Ephesus .  100 

279  Site  of  the  Temple  of  Diana,  Ephesus,  in  1902 .  101 

280  The  Theater,  Ephesus .  101 

281  The  Amphitheater,  Ephesus .  102 

282  The  Stadium,  Ephesus .  102 

283  Pergamum  (after  Ramsay) . 103 

284  The  Acropolis  and  partly  Excavated  Temple,  Sardis  (after  Butler).  103 

285  Excavated  Temple,  Sardis,  looking  toward  the  Hermus  Valley  (after 

Butler) . 104 

286  A  Christian  Church  at  Sardis  (after  Butler) .  105 

287  Smyrna  (after  Ramsay) .  105 


8 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Figure  Plate 

288  A  Ruin  at  Laodicea  ( after  Ramsay) .  106 

289  A  Bridge  over  the  Jordan  on  the  Line  of  a  Roman  Road .  106 

290  Fragment  of  a  Creation-Tablet .  107 

291  Assyrian  Sacred  Tree  Conventionalized .  107 

292  Hammurapi  Receiving  the  Laws  from  the  Sun-God . : . .  107 

293  The  So-called  Adam  and  Eve  Seal .  107 

294  A  Tablet  from  Nippur,  Relating  the  Beginnings  of  Irrigation  and 

Agriculture  ( after  Langdon ) .  108 

295  Top  of  the  Black  Obelisk  of  Shalmaneser .  108 

296  Jehu  of  Israel  Doing  Homage  to  Shalmaneser .  108 

297  The  Siloam  Inscription .  109 

298  Sennacherib  Receiving  Tribute  at  Lachish  (after  Ball) .  109 

299  An  Altar  to  Unknown  Gods  ( after  Deissmann) .  110 

300  The  Moabite  Stone .  110 

301  Papyrus  Containing  Sayings  of  Jesus  ( after  Grenfell  and  Hunt) .  Ill 

302  Babylonian  Seal  Containing  the  Name  “Israel” . 111a 

303  Inscription  on  Synagogue  Floor  at  Ain  Duk . 111a 

MAPS 

Map  of  Egypt  to  First  Cataract . Facing  page  18 

Map  of  the  Ancient  World . Facing  page  40 

Map  of  Palestine . . Facing  page  104 

Plate 

Map  of  Jerusalem  in  the  Time  of  the  Jebusites  and  David .  112 

Map  of  Solomon’s  Jerusalem .  112 

Map  of  Jerusalem  from  Hezekiah  to  the  Exile .  113 

Map  of  Nehemiah’s  Jerusalem .  113 

Map  of  Asmonsean  Jerusalem .  114 

Map  of  Herodian  Jerusalem .  114 


EXPLANATION  OF  SIGNS 


§  =  section, 
ibid.  =  the  same, 
op.  cit.  =  work  cited. 

f.  =  and  following  page, 
ff.  =  and  following  pages, 
cf.  =  compare, 
v.  =  verse, 
col.  =  column, 
p.  =  page. 

]  in  translations  of  tablets  indicate  words  supplied  where  not  de¬ 
cipherable. 

. in  translations  of  tablets  indicate  missing  line  or  words  which  can¬ 
not  be  supplied. 


INTRODUCTION 


One  who  would  write  on  archaeology  and  the  Bible  must  at  the 
outset  define  the  scope  of  his  undertaking,  for  the  word  archaeology 
conveys  different  meanings  to  different  people.  Judgments  also 
differ  as  to  how  things  ancient  can  best  serve  the  interests  of  the 
Biblical  student.  To  many  the  word  archaeology  calls  up  visions 
of  ancient  pottery,  jewelry,  swords,  utensils,  etc.,  which  are  valued 
as  objects  of  curiosity  simply  because  they  are  old.  Others,  when 
they  think  of  archaeology,  call  to  mind  excavations,  in  which  the 
walls  of  ancient  temples  and  cities  are  laid  bare,  so  that  we  may  see 
how  men  lived  in  other  days.  To  such,  archaeology  is  identical  with 
antiquarianism.  A  book  on  archaeology  and  the  Bible  written  from 
this  point  of  view  would  confine  itself  to  the  way  in  which  texts  of 
Scripture  are  illustrated  or  illumined  by  antiquarian  objects. 

To  still  others  the  word  archaeology  calls  up  ancient  tablets  or 
papyri,  inscribed  with  hieroglyphics  or  some  other  strange  charac¬ 
ters,  from  which  the  initiated  can  decipher  texts  that  prove  the 
truth  of  one’s  views  of  Scripture.  According  to  this  view,  archae¬ 
ology  is  the  science  of  ancient  documents,  and  a  book  dealing  with 
archaeology  and  the  Bible  should  confine  itself  to  the  discussion  of 
documents  which  confirm  or  illustrate  the  Biblical  text. 

Those  who  hold  either  of  these  views  of  archaeology  will  find 
in  this  book  much  that  will  accord  with  their  expectations,  but 
much  also  that  will  seem  to  them  irrelevant.  In  Part  I,  Chapters 
IV,  VI-XII  deal  with  antiquities,  their  discovery,  and  the  light 
which  these  shed  upon  the  inspired  page,  for  antiquarianism  is  a 
part  of  archaeology.  Portions  of  Part  I  are  devoted  to  the  dis¬ 
covery  of  inscribed  objects;  in  Part  II  the  reader  will  find  a  full 
presentation  of  the  bearing  of  these  upon  the  different  parts  of  the 
Sacred  Volume.  Those  who  hold  the  second  of  the  views  men¬ 
tioned  above  will  not,  therefore,  be  disappointed. 

Neither  of  the  views  mentioned  corresponds,  however,  with  the 
limits  of  archaeology.  Archaeology  is  “that  branch  of  knowledge 
which  takes  cognizance  of  past  civilizations,  and  investigates  their 

11 


12 


INTRODUCTION 


history  in  all  fields,  by  means  of  the  remains  of  art,  architecture, 
monuments,  inscriptions,  literature,  language,  implements,  cus¬ 
toms,  and  all  other  examples  which  have  survived.”1  This  defini¬ 
tion  is  accepted  by  the  writer  of  this  work  and  has  guided  him  in  the 
preparation  of  the  following  pages.  It  has,  of  course,  been  impos¬ 
sible  in  one  volume  to  deal  adequately  with  the  antiquities  and  the 
ancient  documents  and  to  treat  fully  the  history  of  the  civilizations 
of  the  Biblical  countries,  but  an  endeavor  has  been  made  to  place 
the  reader  in  possession  of  an  intelligent  point  of  view  with  reference 
to  these  things.  As  the  physical  structure  of  a  country  determines 
to  a  large  degree  the  nature  of  its  buildings,  the  utensils  employed 
by  its  inhabitants,  their  writing  materials,  and  their  relations  with 
other  peoples, — as  well  as  the  way  the  objects  were  preserved  from 
ancient  to  modern  times, — brief  descriptions  of  the  physical  fea¬ 
tures  of  Egypt,  Mesopotamia,  and  Palestine,  the  three  most 
prominent  of  Biblical  countries,  have  been  introduced. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  early  history  of  Egypt  and  Babylonia  has 
come  almost  wholly  from  archaeological  exploration;  it  has  seemed 
fitting,  therefore,  to  introduce  in  Part  I,  Chapter  I,  §  6,  and  Chapter 
II,  §  6,  brief  sketches  of  the  history  of  these  countries.  This  ap¬ 
peared  all  the  more  necessary  since  the  inhabitants  of  these  two 
countries  worked  out,  in  advance  of  any  other  peoples,  the  initial 
problems  of  civilization.  Palestine  borrowed  from  them  both,  so 
that  it  is  impossible  to  understand  the  history  and  archaeology 
of  Palestine  apart  from  Egyptian  and  Babylonian  antecedents. 
Whenever  it  is  possible  the  reader  should  supplement  these  sketches 
by  reference  to  the  larger  works  cited  in  the  notes. 

Similarly  in  Part  I,  Chapter  V,  an  outline  of  the  history  of  Pales¬ 
tine  from  the  earliest  times  is  presented.  To  some  this  may  seem 
unnecessary,  since  centuries  of  that  history  passed  before  the 
Hebrew  people  came  to  the  country,  but  it  is  hoped  that  every 
reader  will  be  glad  to  know  the  various  vicissitudes  through  which 
passed  the  land  that  was  chosen  by  God  as  the  home  of  the  religious 
leaders  of  the  human  race.  This  history  also  gives  emphasis  to  the 
promise  “to  give  thee  great  and  goodly  cities,  which  thou  buildedst 
not,  and  houses  full  of  all  good  things,  which  thou  filledst  not,  and 
cisterns  hewn  out,  which  thou  hewedst  not,  vineyards  and  olive- 
trees,  which  thou  plantedst  not”  (Deut.  6  :  10,  11). 

Some,  too,  may  be  surprised  that  the  chronologies  of  Egypt  and 

1  Century  Dictionary,  edition  of  1903,  Vol.  I,  p.  293. 


INTRODUCTION 


13 


Babylonia  and  Assyria  should  be  treated  as  fully  as  they  are  in 
Part  I,  Chapter  I,  §  5,  and  Chapter  II,  §  5,  but  in  the  writer’s  view 
this  treatment  was  necessary  and  appropriate  for  several  reasons: 
(1)  The  data  on  which  these  chronologies  are  built  up  are  for  the 
most  part  the  fruits  of  archaeological  research.  (2)  They  are  our 
only  means  of  measuring  the  antiquity  of  civilization,  since  the 
Bible  itself  affords  no  continuous  system  of  chronology.1  If  the 
student  of  the  Bible  is  to  have  any  intelligent  idea  of  what  “the 
fulness  of  time”  (Gal.  4  :  4)  means,  he  should  know  what  the  sources 
of  our  chronology  are  and  how  they  are  rightly  used.  (3)  Such  a 
presentation  seemed  all  the  more  necessary  because  in  many  books, 
especially  those  of  some  English  Egyptologists,  the  materials  are 
employed  uncritically,  and  civilization  is  made  to  appear  much  older 
than  it  really  is. 

To  accomplish  all  these  aims  the  writer  has  adopted  the  following 
plan:  In  three  chapters  the  archaeology,  history,  and  civilization  of 
Egypt,  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  and  the  Hittites  are  briefly  treated, 
together  with  the  discoveries  which  especially  interest  the  Biblical 
student.  These  are  the  three  great  civilizations  which  preceded  the 
Israelitish.  A  much  more  detailed  treatment  is  given  to  Palestine,  to 
which  Chapters  IV-XIV  of  Part  I  are  devoted.  In  the  last  chapter 
of  Part  I  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  present  the  discoveries  in 
Greece  and  Asia  Minor  which  throw  light  on  the  New  Testament. 
In  Part  II  the  texts,  Babylonian,  Assyrian,  Egyptian,  Hebrew, 
Moabitish,  Phoenician,  Aramaic,  Greek,  and  Latin,  which  bear  on 
the  Bible,  are  translated.  They  are  arranged  in  the  order  of  the 
Biblical  books  which  they  illuminate.  Each  translation  is  accom¬ 
panied  by  a  brief  discussion  in  which  its  chief  bearing  on  the  Bible  is 
pointed  out. 

In  conclusion  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  offer  a  word  of  guid¬ 
ance  to  two  or  three  classes  of  readers.  Those  who  are  not  inter¬ 
ested  in  the  history  of  Babylonia  and  Egypt,  but  wish  simply  to 
know  what  has  been  discovered  in  those  countries  which  throws 
light  on  the  Scriptures,  should  turn  at  once  to  Part  I,  Chapter  I,  §  7, 
and  Chapter  II,  §  7,  and  to  the  translations  of  the  various  texts  in 
Part  II.  A  reader  that  is  interested  especially  in  Palestine,  rather 
than  in  the  ancient  civilizations  to  which  the  Hebrews  were  indebted, 
should  begin  Part  I  at  Chapter  IV.  Possibly  after  he  has  read  that 

1  The  chronology  of  Archbishop  Usher,  printed  in  the  margin  of  many  Bibles,  is  not  a  part 
of  the  Biblical  text,  but  a  collection  of  seventeenth  century  calculations  and  guesses. 


14 


INTRODUCTION 


which  the  Holy  Land  has  contributed  to  the  understanding  of  the 
Bible,  he  may  be  ready  to  give  a  little  attention  to  such  outlying 
peoples  as  the  Egyptians,  Babylonians,  and  Hittites.  In  that  case 
he  will  turn  back  and  read  Chapters  I-TIL 

Pastors  or  Sunday-school  teachers  who  wish  to  employ  the  book 
as  a  tool  by  means  of  which  to  study  certain  texts  or  lessons  should 
follow  a  different  course.  These  will  be  able  with  the  aid  of  the  full 
index  of  Scripture  references  to  turn  at  once  to  all  the  material 
bearing  on  the  passage  in  question.  If  the  use  of  this  index  does 
not  afford  all  the  information  desired,  reference  should  then  be  made 
to  the  analytical  table  of  contents  at  the  beginning,  or  to  the 
index  of  subjects  at  the  end,  or  to  both. 

It  is  the  writer’s  hope  that,  in  addition  to  its  use  as  a  book  of  refer¬ 
ence  for  the  elucidation  or  illustration  of  individual  texts,  there  may 
be  some  who  will  enjoy  reading  the  whole  work,  and  who  will  find, 
as  he  himself  has  found,  that  every  scrap  of  knowledge  of  ancient 
life  in  Bible  lands  serves  to  make  the  Bible  story  and  the  lives  of 
Biblical  characters  so  much  more  real,  or  puts  them  or  their  words 
in  a  perspective  so  much  more  clear,  that  the  eternal  message  comes 
with  new  power  and  can  be  transmitted  with  greater  efficiency. 


PART  I 


THE  BIBLE  LANDS,  THEIR  EXPLORATION, 
AND  THE  RESULTANT  LIGHT  ON  THE 
BIBLE  AND  HISTORY 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


CHAPTER  I 

EGYPT 

The  Land.  The  Preservation  of  Antiquities.  Egyptian  Discoveries.  De¬ 
cipherment.  Chronology.  Outline  of  the  History:  The  pre-dynastic  period. 
The  archaic  period.  The  old  kingdom.  The  first  period  of  disintegration.  The 
middle  kingdom.  Second  period  of  disintegration.  The  empire  period.  The  period 
of  foreign  dynasties.  The  lower  empire.  The  Persian  period.  The  Ptolemaic  period. 
The  Roman  period.  Egyptian  Discoveries  Which  Bear  on  the  Bible:  Texts 
bearing  on  the  story  of  Joseph.  The  Invasion  of  Egypt  by  the  Hyksos.  The  El- 
Amarna  letters.  Period  of  the  Oppression  and  the  Exodus.  Campaign  of  Sheshonk  I. 
Papyri  discovered  at  Elephantine.  The  palace  of  Hophra.  The  castle  at  Tahpanhes. 
The  Jewish  temple  at  Leontopolis.  Papyri  from  Oxyrhynchus.  Discoveries  in  Nubia. 

1.  The  Land. — Egypt  is  in  many  ways  unique  among  the 
countries  of  the  world.  One  of  these  unique  features  is  its  form. 
If  we  omit  the  Delta,  it  has  but  one  dimension, — length.  From 
Cairo  to  the  First  Cataract  is  a  distance  of  583  miles,  while  the 
breadth  of  the  valley,  including  the  barren  lands  on  each  side  of 
it,  varies  from  12 \  to  31  miles.  If  we  include  Nubia  to  the  Fourth 
Cataract,  which  the  Egyptians  ultimately  conquered,  the  length 
is  much  greater,  being  about  1,100  miles.  In  Nubia  the  banks 
are  much  more  precipitous,  the  valley  varying  from  5  to  9\  miles. 
The  verdant  portion  is,  however,  often  not  more  than  a  mile  in 
width. 

This  land  is  flanked  on  each  side  by  extensive  barren  deserts 
on  which  there  is  almost  no  rainfall.  Egypt  itself  would  be  a  part 
of  this  desert,  were  it  not  for  the  overflow  of  the  Nile.  This 
overflow  is  caused  by  the  peculiar  formation  of  this  marvelous 
river. 

The  upper  part  of  the  Nile  consists  of  two  main  branches,  called, 
respectively,  the  White  and  the  Blue  Nile.  The  White  Nile  rises 
3  degrees  south  of  the  equator,  some  4,000  miles  south  of  the 
Mediterranean,  to  the  south  of  Lake  Victoria  Nyanza.  This 
region  is  watered  by  tropical  rains,  which  fall  almost  daily.  This 

17 


18 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


steady  water  supply  gives  to  the  Nile  its  constant  volume.  At 
Khartum,  1,350  miles  from  the  Mediterranean  in  a  direct  line, 
and  1,650  miles  as  the  river  winds,  the  White  Nile  is  joined  by  the 
Blue  Nile.  This  branch  of  the  river  drains  a  large  part  of  Abys¬ 
sinia,  an  upland  and  mountainous  region  which  has  a  dry  and  a 
rainy  season.  In  the  dry  season  this  stream  dwindles  almost  to 
nothing;  in  the  rainy  season  it  is  a  turbid  mountain  torrent,  which 
rushes  impetuously  onward,  laden  with  loose  soil  from  all  the  land 
which  it  drains.  For  this  reason  it  is  called  the  Blue,  i.  e.,  the 
Dark  or  Turbid,  Nile. 

At  a  distance  of  140  miles  north  of  the  union  of  the  two  Niles 
the  river  receives  its  only  other  tributary,  the  Atbara,  which  also 
flows  in  from  the  eastern  side.  The  Atbara,  like  the  Blue  Nile, 
is  an  insignificant  stream  except  in  the  rainy  season,  when  it  is  a 
torrent. 

It  is  the  variation  of  the  water  supply  from  the  Blue  Nile  and 
Atbara  which  causes  the  overflow  of  the  river  in  Egypt.  At  the 
beginning  of  June  the  river  begins  slowly  to  swell;  between  the 
15th  and  the  20th  of  July  the  increase  becomes  very  rapid;  toward 
the  end  of  September  the  water  ceases  to  rise  and  remains  at  the 
same  height  for  twenty  to  thirty  days.  In  October  it  rises  again, 
attaining  its  greatest  height.  It  then  decreases,  and  in  January, 
February,  and  March  the  fields  gradually  dry  off.  This  overflow 
prepares  the  soil  of  Egypt  for  cultivation,  first  by  softening  it  and 
then  by  fertilizing  it.  It  was  easy,  under  these  conditions,  to 
develop  agriculture  there. 

Indeed,  the  width  of  productive  Egypt  is  determined  by  the 
lateral  extent  of  this  overflow.  For  the  last  1,500  miles  of  its 
course  the  Nile  receives  no  tributary.  It  plows  its  way  through 
regions  of  desert  which,  but  for  the  Nile  itself,  are  unbroken. 
At  six  points,  beginning  at  Khartum  and  ending  at  Assuan,  the 
river  makes  its  way  over  granite  ridges,  through  which  it  has  never 
succeeded  in  cutting  a  smooth  channel.  These  are  called  the 
Cataracts.  As  civilized  man  discovered  these  from  the  north, 
that  at  Assuan  is  known  as  the  First  Cataract,  and  that  at  Khartum 
as  the  Sixth.  The  calendar  of  ancient  Egypt  was  shaped  in  part 
by  the  Nile.  The  year  was  divided  into  three  seasons  of  four 
months  each.  Beginning  with  the  rise  of  the  water  about  July  19th, 
there  was  the  season  of  the  inundation,  which  was  followed  by 
four  months  of  winter  and  four  months  of  summer. 


'  Aim! to 
4  ,  *U*t* 

*  ErA.jlJi 

iSettrfljk 


CANO*'i. 


Ji \r'  Sin 'ft 


AU*ANBRi< 


.  Awt»ecoui*A 


Ef'ArtsA 


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HFUWOUifw* 


r*  7Wv»  (junrstt* 
JAfa  'sura  Quarrrrs 

^WHlTf  »VAU. 


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HCJUCtXOPOLIS  MAGMA; 

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Tombs  *>f 
,'Zduhvt  A  Mttln 


HERMOPOUS  MAG* 
5HMUN  Hs/rmmm 


fthBrrshrfi  Tombs 
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}r/  Anar/ta  ~*S}it-k  h  So  rid  Tombs 
rA><H£TA7  OH 


kNTAEOPOUS 


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irst  Dynasty 


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j  '  V* 

j  Midi  rut  H<r 
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S  PENINSULA 

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•  Aiouftt/s  of  rums 

A 

♦  Aort  cut  tombs 

O  Modtrrr  Au/n/rtt  Ytttagt  or  City  | 
.  ■'■■"  Jtm.il road 
.  Asmst  jta/ncs  «*>••  AKSl_NO£  ! 
ModtrA  UAmss;  as  fttyi'rt  *  ,  j 


hUmS  V  ttEPHANTlNE 
J  limit  *r  SrAft  1 

—agflajattr; 


Map  of  Egypt. 


EGYPT 


19 


In  late  geologic  time  all  Egypt  north  of  Cairo  was  a  bay  of  the 
Mediterranean.  In  the  course  of  the  centuries  the  sea  has  been 
driven  out  by  deposits  of  detritus  brought  down  by  the  Nile. 
As  the  mud  was  deposited  in  this  level  region,  the  water  continued 
to  make  its  way  through  it  here  and  there.  Several  mouths  were 
kept  open,  and  thus  the  Delta  was  formed.  This  Delta  is  called 
Lower  Egypt.  Upper  Egypt  extends  from  Cairo  to  the  First 
Cataract;  Nubia,  from  the  First  Cataract  to  the  Sixth. 

2.  The  Preservation  of  Antiquities. — Rain  in  Egypt  is  very, 
very  rare.  One  might  almost  say  that  it  never  rains.  The 
country  lies  in  a  latitude  so  far  south  that  frost  is  rarely  known. 
These  two  conditions  have  united  to  preserve  the  ruins  of  many 
ancient  buildings  in  both  Egypt  and  Nubia  in  a  state  of  perfec¬ 
tion  which  is  rare  in  other  countries.  It  was  the  custom  of  the 
ancient  Egyptians  to  bury  their  dead  in  the  dry  land  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  Nile’s  overflow.  Like  many  other  peoples,  they 
placed  in  the  tombs  of  their  dead  many  objects  used  by  the  de¬ 
parted  in  life.  Further,  their  peculiar  beliefs  concerning  im¬ 
mortality  led  them  to  mummify  the  bodies  of  the  departed;  i.  e., 
they  fortified  them  against  decay.  Thus  archaeological  objects 
have  been  preserved  in  Egypt  in  an  abundance  and  a  perfection 
wdthout  parallel.  So  many  of  these  are  massive  temples  of  stone, 
which,  through  all  the  ages,  have  stood  unconcealed  as  silent  wit¬ 
nesses  of  a  past  greatness,  that  from  Cairo  to  the  First  Cataract 
Egypt  is  one  great  archaeological  museum. 

3.  Egyptian  Discoveries. — Although  many  Egyptian  antiqui¬ 
ties  have  always  been  visible,  they  attracted  little  attention 
until  modern  times.  Egyptian  temple  walls  are  covered  with 
hieroglyphic  writing,  but  the  art  of  reading  it  had  long  been  lost. 
Coptic,  a  language  descended  from  the  ancient  Egyptian,  was 
still  preserved  as  the  sacred  language  of  the  Egyptian  Church,  as 
Latin  is  the  ecclesiastical  language  of  Roman  Catholics,  but  no 
one  realized  that  Coptic  was  simply  late  Egyptian. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  European  travelers  began  to  bring 
home  Egyptian  antiquities.  In  1683  a  specimen  of  Egyptian  art 
was  presented  to  the  Ashmolean  Museum  at  Oxford.  In  the 
eighteenth  century  R.  Pococke  (1704-1765)  and  F.  L.  Norden 
(1704-1742)  described  a  number  of  Egyptian  ruins  and  identified 
a  number  of  the  sites  mentioned  by  classical  authors.  Pococke 
was  an  Englishman  and  Norden  a  Dane.  Others,  like  the  ex- 


20 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


plorer  Bruce,  who  was  seeking  the  sources  of  the  Nile  (1768-1773), 
participated  to  some  extent  in  the  work. 

No  systematic  examination  of  the  antiquities  was  made,  how¬ 
ever,  until  the  time  of  Napoleon  I.  When  Napoleon  invaded 
Egypt  in  1798,  he  was  accompanied  by  an  army  of  eminent  schol¬ 
ars  and  artists,  nearly  a  hundred  strong,  and  although  in  the 
settlement  with  England,  which  followed  in  1802,  the  French 
were  compelled  to  surrender  their  archaeological  treasures  to 
Great  Britain,  they  were  permitted  to  publish  the  results  of  their 
observations  and  explorations.  The  publication  of  these  ad¬ 
vanced  slowly,  but  between  1809  and  1822  the  great  work,  con¬ 
sisting  of  one  volume  of  introduction,  three  volumes  of  plates, 
and  three  volumes  of  texts,  was  given  to  the  world.  In  these 
volumes  the  antiquities  from  the  First  Cataract  to  Alexandria 
were  systematically  described,  and  many  of  them  were  repro¬ 
duced  in  magnificent  water-color  illustrations.  As  the  nine¬ 
teenth  century  progressed,  additional  discoveries  were  made, 
partly  by  the  labors  of  such  scientists  as  Lepsius  and  Mariette, 
and  partly  through  the  rifling  of  tombs  by  natives,  who  often  sold 
their  finds  to  Europeans.  Since  Egypt  passed  under  English 
control,  exploration  has  been  fostered  by  the  government,  and 
English,  French,  German,  Italian,  and  American  explorers  have 
taken  part  in  it.  The  tombs  of  many  of  the  ancient  Pharaohs, 
-the  mummies  of  a  considerable  number  of  them,  all  sorts  of  im¬ 
plements  and  household  furniture,  have  been  discovered,  as  well 
as  a  great  variety  of  historical,  literary,  religious,  and  business 
documents. 

Within  the  last  twenty  years  a  series  of  tombs  of  a  previously 
unknown  type  has  been  discovered.  The  bodies  buried  in  these 
tombs  did  not  lie  on  the  back  as  the  ordinary  Egyptian  mummy 
does,  but  on  the  side,  with  the  knees  drawn  up  to  the  chin.»  It 
was  at  first  thought  that  these  tombs  were  the  work  of  a  new  race 
of  men  who  had  invaded  Egypt  at  some  time  in  the  historical 
period,  but  further  study  indicates  that  they  are  the  tombs  of  the 
early  Egyptians  from  whom  the  Egyptians  known  to  history  were 
descended. 

4.  Decipherment. — One  of  the  objects,  found  by  the  French 
at  the  time  of  Napoleon’s  expedition  was  the  “Rosetta  Stone,” 
so  called  because  found  at  Rosetta  (Ar- Rashid) ,  a  town  near  the 
mouth  of  the  westernmost  of  the  large  branches  of  the  Nile.  This 


EGYPT 


21 


stone  was  set  up  about  200  b.  c.  by  some  priests,  who  expressed, 
through  the  inscription  which  it  bore,  their  thanks  to  the  young 
king,  Ptolemy  V,  because  certain  taxes  formerly  imposed  on  them 
had  been  remitted.  The  inscription  was  written  in  three  kinds 
of  wTriting — hieroglyphic  Egyptian  (picture-writing),  demotic 
Egyptian  (developed  from  picture-writing),  and  Greek;  (see  Fig. 
14).  It  was  among  the  objects  which  the  English  took  in  1802, 
and  had  been  placed  in  the  British  Museum.  Although  the  Greek 
portion  of  the  inscription  could  be  easily  read,  the  attempts  of 
various  scholars,  through  a  period  of  twenty  years,  had  succeeded 
in  establishing  the  values  of  only  a  few  characters  of  the  Egyptian. 
In  1818  Jean  Francois  Champollion,  a  French  scholar,  who  before 
this  had  busied  himself  with  the  study  of  Coptic  and  Egyptian 
geography,  began  the  study  of  the  Rosetta  Stone.  He  assumed 
that  the  language  of  the  upper  registers  must  be  an  older  form 
of  the  Coptic  tongue.  By  a  most  painstaking  comparison  of  the 
characters  in  the  upper  registers  with  the  Coptic  equivalents  of 
the  words  in  the  lower  or  Greek  register,  he  succeeded  in  deciph¬ 
ering  the  long-forgotten  writing  of  ancient  Egypt.  He  published 
his  discovery  in  1822.  Thus  the  door  to  the  historical  and  literary 
treasures  of  ancient  Egypt  was  unlocked,  and  from  that  time  to 
this  the  study  of  Egyptian  inscriptions  and  documents  has  gone 
steadily  forward.  Many  universities  now  maintain  chairs  of 
Egyptology.  The  ability  to  read  Egyptian  has  opened  up  vistas 
of  history  of  which  men  had  hitherto  no  conception. 

5.  Chronology. — We  are  dependent  for  our  main  outline  of 
Egyptian  chronology  upon  the  work  of  Manetho,  an  Egyptian 
priest,  who  lived  about  250  b.  c.,  and  wrote  a  chronicle  of  his 
native  land  in  the  Greek  language.  He  grouped  the  kings  of 
Egypt  from  the  time  of  Menes  (or  Mena)  to  the  conquest  of 
Alexander  the  Great  (332  b.  c.)  into  thirty-one  dynasties.  Man¬ 
etho ’s  dynasties  enable  scholars  to  determine  the  relative  order  of 
the  kings,  and  thus  form  the  backbone  of  our  chronology.  Around 
his  statements  the  discoveries  of  the  excavators  and  explorers  are 
grouped.  Manetho’s  work  has  not,  however,  come  down  to  us. 
We  know  it  only  through  quotations  in  the  Chronographiai  of 
Julius  Africanus  (221  a.  d.)  and  the  Chronicon  of  Eusebius  of 
Cesarea  (265-340  a.  d.).  The  number  of  years  assigned  to  each 
king,  and  consequently  the  length  of  time  covered  by  the  dynas¬ 
ties,  differ  in  these  two  copies,  so  that,  while  the  work  of  Manetho 


22 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


forms  the  backbone  of  our  chronology,  it  gives  us  no  absolutely 
reliable  chronology.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  chronological 
schemes  of  modern  scholars  have  differed  so  widely. 

Another  source  of  chronological  information  is  the  so-called 
“Palermo  Stone,”  which  is  preserved  in  the  Museum  of  Palermo, 
Sicily.  This  stone  is  a  hard  diorite,  and  is  but  a  fragment  of  the 
original.  It  was  inscribed  about  the  middle  of  the  fifth  dynasty, 
and  originally  contained  a  list  of  the  kings  of  Egypt  from  a  time 
long  before  Mena  to  the  middle  of  the  fifth  dynasty.  Though 
now  but  a  fragment,  it  is  still  of  great  value  for  the  period  which 
it  covers.  In  addition  to  this,  we  also  have  the  King  List  of 
Karnak,  set  up  by  Thothmes  III,  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  the 
King  List  of  Abydos,  inscribed  by  Seti  I  and  Ramses  II,  of  the 
nineteenth  dynasty,  and  the  King  List  of  Sakkarah,  inscribed  by 
Ramses  II.  As  these  are  all  simply  selections  from  the  list  of 
the  predecessors  of  their  authors,  they  are  of  secondary  importance. 
The  “Turin  Papyrus”  would  be  of  value  chronologically,  but  for 
its  unfortunate  history.  This  papyrus  originally  contained  the 
most  complete  list  of  Egyptian  kings  that  has  come  down  to  us, 
with  the  exception  of  Manetho’s  chronology.  It  formed  part  of 
the  collection  of  M.  Drovetti,  the  French  Consul-General  in 
Egypt.  The  collection  was  offered  to  the  French  government 
in  1818,  but  was  finally  purchased  by  the  king  of  Sardinia.  When 
the  collection  arrived  in  Turin,  it  was  found  that  this  papyrus  was 
broken  into  small  fragments  in  the  bottom  of  the  box  in  which  it 
had  been  shipped.  The  fragments  were  afterward  (1824)  examined 
by  Champollion  the  younger,  who  discovered  their  true  char¬ 
acter.  In  1826  another  Egyptologist  went  to  Turin  and  joined 
the  fragments;  but  the  science  of  Egyptology  was  then  in  its 
infancy,  and  he  in  his  ignorance  joined  pieces  which  did  not  natu¬ 
rally  belong  together.  For  this  reason  it  is  only  occasionally  that 
the  document  yields  us  any  chronological  data. 

The  greatest  aid  in  fixing  Egyptian  chronology  is  the  “Sothic 
Cycle.”  At  an  early  date  the  Egyptians  adopted  a  calendar 
which  made  up  a  year  of  365  days.  Their  year  originally  began 
when  the  rapid  rising  of  the  Nile  coincided  with  the  rising  of  the 
star  Sirius,  called  by  them  Sothis.  These  events  coincided  on 
July  19th.  As  their  calendar  made  no  allowance  for  leap  year, 
in  four  years  their  new  year  began  a  day  too  soon,  in  eight  years 
two  days  too  soon,  and  so  on.  In  1,460  years  {i.  e.,  365  X  4)  their 


EGYPT 


23 


New  Year’s  Day  would  make  a  complete  circuit  of  the  year.  These 
periods  of  1 ,460  years  are  called  Sothic  Cycles.  Censorinus,  in  Chap¬ 
ters  XVIII  and  XXI  of  his  De  Die  Natali ,  written  in  238  a.  d., 
tells  us  that  a  new  Sothic  cycle  began  at  some  time  between  140 
and  144  a.  d.  If  a  new  cycle  began  in  140  a.  d.,  the  previous  one 
began  in  1320  b.  c.;  the  one  before  that,  in  2780  b.  c.;  and  the  one 
before  that, — if  they  had  their  calendar  so  early, — in  4240  b.  c. 
Reisner  holds  that  the  Egyptians  adopted  their  calendar  in  2780 
b.  c.,  but  Meyer  and  Breasted  hold  that  it  is  unthinkable  that  they 
should  have  been  without  a  calendar  until  that  time,  as  by  that 
date  the  civilization  of  the  pyramid  builders  was  at  its  height; 
they  accordingly  maintain  that  the  Egyptian  calendar  was  adopted 
in  4240  b.  c. 

An  illustration  will  show  how  the  Sothic  cycle  helps  in  deter¬ 
mining  dates.  A  priest  in  the  120th  year  of  the  twelfth  dynasty 
wrote  a  letter  to  his  subordinates,  to  inform  them  that  the  rising 
of  Sothis  would  occur  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  eighth  month. 
As  there  were  thirty  days  in  each  month,  the  year  diverged  at  this 
time  225  days.  This  date,  then,  was  just  900  years  after  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  the  cycle  in  2780  b.  c.;  i.  e.t  the  letter  was  written  in  the 
year  1880  b.  c.  It  proves  that  the  twelfth  dynasty  began  in 
2000  b.  c.,  and  fixes  for  us  all  the  dates  of  that  dynasty.  The 
calendar  in  the  so-called  Papyrus  Ebers  shows  that  in  the  tenth 
year  of  Amenophis  I,  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  the  divergence 
had  increased  to  308  days.  This  must  have  been  1,232  years 
after  the  beginning  of  the  cycle,  which  was  the  year  1548  b.  c. 
Data  gained  from  these  sources  are  supplemented  by  what  is  called 
dead  reckoning;  i.  e.,  by  adding  together  all  the  specific  dates  of 
the  length  of  reigns  which  are  given  in  the  inscriptions,  and  test¬ 
ing  them  by  collateral  references.  Meyer  and  Breasted  have 
worked  out  the  chronology  from  these  data  in  this  way.  Meyer 
places  the  accession  of  Mena  at  3200  b.  c.,  while  Breasted  places 
it  at  3400  b.  c.  This  difference  is  slight  when  compared  with  the 
differences  in  the  chronologies  of  the  older  Egyptologists. 

6.  Outline  of  History.1 — The  history  of  Egypt,  as  it  concerns 
our  subject,  extends  over  a  period  of  five  thousand  years.  It  falls 
into  twelve  periods: 


jr*or  fuller  accounts  of  the  history  of  Egypt,  see  Breasted’s  History  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians, 
New  York,  Scribner’s,  1908;  or  Breasted’s  History  of  Egypt,  second  edition,  1909,  New  York, 
Scribner’s. 


24 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


(1)  The  Pre-Dynastic  Period,  which  we  suppose  extended  from 
about  5000  b.  c.,  or  earlier,  until  about  3400  b.  c.,  is  the  period 
before  that  covered  by  Manetho’s  dynasties.  At  the  beginning  of 
this  period  Egypt  was  divided  into  42  districts,  which  the  Egyp¬ 
tians  called  spt  or  hsp ,  and  which  the  Greeks  afterwards  called 
nomes.  Each  nome  was  occupied  by  a  different  tribe,  which  at 
the  first  lived  in  isolation  from  the  other  tribes.  Each  tribe  had 
its  god,  to  which  an  animal  was  sacred.  This  condition  prevailed 
for  so  many  centuries  that  the  customs  of  this  time  became  per¬ 
manently  fixed.  The  sacredness  of  these  animals  continued  right 
down  to  Roman  times.  During  this  period  the  dead  were  buried 
on  their  sides  with  the  knees  drawn  up  to  the  chin;  (see  Fig.  8). 
The  Egyptians  of  this  period  lived  partly  by  hunting,  partly  by 
fishing,  and  partly  by  agriculture.  From  objects  found  in  their 
tombs  we  4nfer  that  they  used  stone  implements,  wore  a  great 
many  beads,  made  implements  and  combs  of  bone,  made 
decorated  pottery,  constructed  boats  for  use  on  the  Nile  and 
fitted  sails  to  them,  and  each  tribe  had  its  own  standard  or 
emblem.  Of  course,  during  the  centuries  when  Egypt  was  so 
politically  divided  there  were  many  wars  between  nome  and 
nome. 

After  some  centuries,  through  the  conquest  of  one  nome  by 
another,  these  42  nomes  were  consolidated  into  two  kingdoms. 
The  20  nomes  of  the  Delta  formed  the  kingdom  of  Lower  Egypt; 
the  22  nomes,  which  were  ranged  along  the  Nile  from  Cairo  to  the 
First  Cataract,  formed  the  kingdom  of  Upper  Egypt.  The  symbol 
of  Upper  Egypt  was  a  papyrus  plant;  that  of  Lower  Egypt,  the 
bee.  The  crown  of  Upper  Egypt  was  a  kind  of  tall  helmet;  that 
of  Lower  Egypt,  a  diadem  of  openwork;  (see  Figs.  2,  3,  and  4). 

At  what  period  this  union  of  the  nomes  into  two  kingdoms 
occurred,  we  can  only  conjecture.  Probably  it  was  as  early  as 
4200  or  4300  b.  c.  At  all  events,  the  two  kingdoms  existed  sepa¬ 
rately  for  so  long  a  time  that  their  memory  was  ever  afterward 
preserved.  To  the  end  of  Egyptian  history  the  kings  bore  the 
title,  “king  of  Upper  Egypt  and  Lower  Egypt.”  Even  in  the 
Hebrew  of  the  Old  Testament  the  name  for  Egypt  is  literally 
“The  two  Egypts.”  In  this  long  pre-dynastic  period  the  people 
were  gradually  emerging  from  savagery  toward  civilization. 
They  were  solving  the  initial  problems  of  civilized  life.  According 
to  Meyer  and  Breasted  the  people  of  Lower  Egypt  had  progressed 


EGYPT 


25 


far  enough  before  4200  b.  c.  to  invent  a  calendar  which  approxi¬ 
mately  coincided  with  the  solar  year. 

(2)  The  Archaic  Period. — The  history  of  united  Egypt  begins 
with  the  reign  of  Menes  or  Mena,  who  in  some  way,  whether  by 
conquest  or  marriage  is  uncertain,  united  the  two  crowns.  He 
came  from  the  nome  of  This,  of  which  the  city  of  Abydos,  sacred 
to  the  worship  of  Osiris,  was  the  chief  town.  He  and  his  suc¬ 
cessors  continued  to  administer  the  two  parts  of  Egypt  as  separate 
countries.  Mena  founded  the  first  dynasty,  and  the  second  dy¬ 
nasty  seems  to  have  been  connected  with  his  house;  it  was,  at  all 
events,  from  the  nome  of  This.  These  two  dynasties  ruled  Egypt 
for  420  years,  from  3400  to  2980  b.  c.  This  is  known  as  the 
archaic  period  of  Egyptian  history.  Men  were,  during  this  time, 
gradually  developing  the  art  of  expressing  thought  by  means  of 
picture-writing.  At  some  time  during  the  first  dynasty  the 
Egyptians  began  to  work  the  turquoise  mines  in  the  Wady  Mag- 
hara  in  the  peninsula  of  Sinai.  The  tombs  of  this  period  were 
low,  flat  houses  of  brick.  The  Arabs  call  them  mastabas  or 
“benches.”  During  the  second  dynasty  the  Egyptians  began  to 
conceive  of  their  gods  in  human  form.  They  preserved  the 
continuity  of  the  earlier  animal  and  bird  forms  by  putting  the  old 
heads  on  human  bodies. 

(3)  The  Old  Kingdom  embraces  dynasties  three  to  six,  and  ex¬ 
tended  from  2980  to  2475  b.  c.,  a  period  of  more  than  500  years. 
During  the  third  and  fourth  dynasties  the  power  of  the  king  was 
supreme  and  the  first  great  culmination  of  Egypt’s  civilization 
occurred.  It  was  in  this  period  that  the  pyramids  developed. 
Zoser,  the  first  king  of  the  third  dynasty,  built  as  his  tomb  the 
so-called  Step  Pyramid;  (see  Fig.  7).  It  consists  of  five  stages 
which  vary  from  29J  to  36  feet  in  height.  It  is  not,  therefore, 
a  true  pyramid.  At  the  base  it  is  352  X  396  feet.  Seneferu,  the 
last  king  of  the  third  dynasty,  built  a  similar  tomb,  but,  as  he 
made  the  stages  lower  and  more  numerous,  it  approached  more 
nearly  the  pyramidal  form. 

Khufu  or  Cheops,  the  founder  of  the  fourth  dynasty,  improving 
upon  the  work  of  his  predecessors,  constructed  the  first  real  pyra¬ 
mid  and  the  greatest  of  them  all.  The  blocks  with  which  he  built 
were  about  three  feet  high,  and  he  made  a  step  with  each  course 
of  stones.  A  covering,  which  has  now  been  removed,  was  originally 
placed  over  the  whole,  thus  securing  a  perfect  pyramidal  form. 


26 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


This  pyramid  is  now  750  (originally  768)  feet  on  each  side,  and 
451  (originally  482)  feet  high.  It  contains  some  2,300,000  blocks 
of  stone,  each  weighing  on  the  average  two  and  a  half  tons;  (see 
Fig.  6).  The  stone  was  quarried  from  the  Mokattam  hills  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Nile,  more  than  twelve  miles  away. 

Khafre,  the  next  king  but  one  after  Khufu,  built  the  second 
pyramid,  which  is  almost  as  high  as  that  of  Khufu,  being  447 J 
feet,  but  measures  on  the  sides  but  690|  feet.  Within  and  under 
the  pyramids  are  the  tomb  chambers.  Khafre  also  carved  out 
of  the  native  rock,  not  far  from  these  two  pyramids,  the  great 
Sphinx,  the  head  of  which  bore  a  portrait  of  himself.  From  the 
top  of  the  head  to  the  pavement  under  the  paws  is  66  feet;  the 
breadth  of  the  face  is  13  feet  8  inches,  and  the  other  parts  are  in 
proportion.  Near  the  Sphinx  stands  a  temple,  built  of  polished 
granite,  which  is  connected  by  an  underground  passage  with  the 
pyramid  of  Khafre.  All  these  are  silent  but  eloquent  witnesses 
to  the  skill  of  the  Egyptians  of  this  period  in  stone  work,  and  to 
the  absolute  power  of  the  Pharaoh;  (see  Figs.  5  and  6). 

Menkaure,  the  next  king,  constructed  a  smaller  pyramid,  the 
side  of  its  base  being  356 J  feet  and  its  height  204  (originally  219) 
feet.  Either  his  power  was  less  or  the  resources  of  the  kingdom 
were  becoming  exhausted.  Though  the  pyramidal  form  of  tombs 
continued  for  several  centuries,  no  others  were  ever  built  that 
approached  these  in  size. 

The  fifth  dynasty  was  founded  by  a  priest  of  On.  During  its 
rule  the  power  of  the  king  was  not  so  absolute,  and  a  powerful 
nobility  began  to  develop.  These  nobles  had  themselves  buried 
in  tombs  of  the  old  mastaba  type,  and  adorned  the  walls  with 
pictures  of  the  industries  which  were  carried  on  upon  their  country 
estates.  One  of  the  most  famous  of  these  is  the  tomb  of  a  certain 
Ti,  from  the  pictures  in  which  much  has  been  learned  of  the  various 
industries  of  ancient  Egypt. 

By  the  time  of  the  sixth  dynasty  a  strong  nobility  had  been 
developed  in  the  different  nomes,  so  that  the  monarchy  was 
thoroughly  feudal.  The  absolute  power  that  the  kings  of  the  first 
four  dynasties  had  exercised  had  passed  away.  During  the  sixth 
dynasty  the  conquest  of  northern  Nubia  was  begun,  an  expedition 
was  sent  to  the  far-away  land  of  Punt,  a  country  far  to  the  south. 
It  was  probably  the  region  on  both  sides  of  the  straits  of  Bab-el- 
Mandeb,  comprising  southwestern  Arabia  and  Somaliland.  An 


EGYPT 


27 


expedition  was  also  sent  over  sea  to  Palestine,  to  chastise  the  in¬ 
habitants  of  the  southern  portion  of  that  country  for  invading 
Egypt.  The  capital  of  Egypt  during  the  whole  of  the  Old  Kingdom 
was  Memphis.  The  city  thus  gained  a  prominence  which  made  it 
ever  afterward  famous.  In  early  times  it  had  been  called  the 
White  Wall,  but  after  the  sixth  dynasty  it  was  called  Men-nofer , 
of  which  Memphis  (Hosea  9:6)  is  a  corruption.  It  is  in  the  Old 
Testament  more  often  called  Noph,  a  corruption  of  the  last  part 
of  the  name.  (See  Isa.  19  :  13;  Jer.  2  :  16;  44 :  1;  46  :  14,  19;  Ezek. 
30:  13,  16.) 

(4)  The  First  Period  of  Disintegration  covers  dynasties  seven  to 
ten  of  Manetho’s  list,  a  period  lasting  from  2475  to  2160  b.  c.  At 
the  beginning  of  this  period  the  powerful  nobles  in  the  different 
nomes  seem,  many  of  them,  to  have  set  up  each  a  government  of 
his  own.  Thus  Egypt  was  once  more  resolved  into  many  con¬ 
tending  kingdoms.  Through  a  cycle  of  2,500  years  a  whole  circle 
of  political  evolution  had  been  completed.  Starting  with  42  chiefs 
or  kinglets,  the  country  had  first  become  two  kingdoms,  then  one 
kingdom.  In  this  struggle  the  local  nobility  had  been  eliminated. 
Through  nine  hundred  years  the  central  monarchy  was  supreme, 
then  slowly  a  new  nobility  developed,  which  finally  overthrew  the 
kingdom  and  once  more  made  Egypt  a  group  of  weak  and  con¬ 
tending  states. 

During  the  last  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  this  period  of 
darkness  we  gain  some  glimpses  of  a  feudal  monarchy  which  had 
its  residence  at  Heracleopolis  in  central  Egypt  and  controlled  a 
good  part  of  the  land  with  varying  degrees  of  success.  These 
kings  were  apparently  the  ninth  and  tenth  dynasties  of  Manetho. 

(5)  The  Middle  Kingdom. — About  2160  b.  c.  an  eleventh  dynasty 
arose  and  began  to  struggle  for  the  supremacy,  finally  achieving  it. 
This  family  belonged  to  the  nome  of  Thebes,  which  had  hitherto 
been  of  no  particular  importance.  It  now  became  the  seat  of 
government,  and  remained  for  1,500  years  one  of  the  most  im¬ 
portant  cities  of  Egypt. 

About  the  year  2000  this  dynasty  was  followed  by  the  twelfth, 
a  powerful  line  of  kings  which  ruled  from  2000  to  1788  b.  c.  This 
was  the  period  of  the  great  Middle  Kingdom.  The  nobles  were 
still  strong,  and  the  monarchy  was  thoroughly  feudal  in  its  organ¬ 
ization.  Three  of  these  monarchs  bore  the  name  Sesostris.  They 
raised  Egypt  to  a  high  degree  of  prosperity  and  power.  Trade 


28 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


with  Punt  was  resumed,  Nubia  was  conquered  to  the  Second 
Cataract,  which  was  made  the  southern  frontier  of  the  realm,  the 
mines  of  Sinai  were  worked,  and  one  of  the  kings,  Amenemhet  III, 
built  a  large  temple  there,  at  a  point  now  called  Sarbut  el-Khadem. 
This  temple  was  explored  a  few  years  ago  by  Petrie. 

Trade  with  Palestine  and  Syria  flourished  during  this  period.  A 
noble  of  middle  Egypt  pictured  in  his  tomb  some  of  those  who 
came  to  trade  with  him.  When  the  pictures  were  first  discovered, 
it  was  thought  that  they  were  the  sons  of  Jacob,  come  to  buy  corn 
in  Egypt;  (see  Fig.  1). 

Sesostris  III  invaded  Palestine  before  1850  b.  c.  and  captured  a 
city  which  was  apparently  Shechem,  though  the  spelling  of  the 
name  is  peculiar.  The  kings  of  this  period  were  buried  in  tombs 
of  pyramidal  form,  though  the  pyramids  were  not  large.  One  of 
them  built  a  great  administration  building  at  Hawara,  which  wTas 
known  to  the  Greeks  as  the  Labyrinth  and  was  regarded  as  one  of 
the  wonders  of  the  world. 

During  this  and  the  preceding  period  a  social  conscience  was 
developed  in  Egypt  which  found  expression  in  a  remarkable  litera¬ 
ture.  Extracts  from  two  examples  of  this,  “The  Eloquent 
Peasant”  and  “The  Admonitions  of  Ipuwer,”  are  published  in 
Part  II,  p.  418,  ff.,  421,  ff. 

(6)  Second  Period  of  Disintegration. — The  thirteenth  dynasty, 
which  began  in  1788  b.  c.,  had  not  been  long  upon  the  throne,  when 
powerful  rebellions  again  broke  up  the  kingdom.  Petty  kinglets 
ruled  once  more  in  many  parts  of  the  land.  These  kings  comprise 
Manetho’s  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  dynasties.  The  land,  dis¬ 
united,  became  an  easy  prey  to  an  invader.  Such  an  invader 
came.  For  more  than  3,000  years  Egypt,  protected  by  her  deserts, 
had  lived  her  life  unmolested.  The  uncivilized  Nubians  on  the 
south,  the  Lybians  on  the  west  of  the  Delta,  and  the  uncivilized 
tribes  of  Sinai  had  been  easily  held  in  check.  But  now  a  powerful 
invader  came  from  Asia  with  a  well  organized,  though  barbaric 
army.  They  conquered  Egypt  and  imposed  upon  her  two  dynas¬ 
ties  of  kings,  who  ruled  for  about  a  hundred  years,  until  they  were 
driven  out  about  1580  b.  c.  These  kings  were  Manetho’s  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  dynasties.  He  calls  them  Hyksos,  which  has  been 
held  to  mean  “Shepherd  Kings,”  but  which  probably  meant 
“Ruler  of  Countries.”  They  have  been  generally  believed  to  be 
Semitic,  though  some  scholars  now  think  they  may  have  been  of 


EGYPT 


29 


Hittite  origin.  In  any  event,  large  numbers  of  Semites  came  to 
Egypt  with  them,  and  left  many  Semitic  names  in  the  Delta. 
Some  of  these  will  be  discussed  below.  This  invasion  broke  up 
Egypt’s  splendid  isolation  and  brought  her  into  the  current  of  world 
events,  from  which  she  was  never  afterward  to  free  herself. 

(7)  The  Empire  Period. — At  some  time  before  1600  B.  c.  a 
seventeenth  dynasty  arose  at  Thebes  and  began  the  struggle  to  ex¬ 
pel  the  foreign  kings.  This  was  not  accomplished  until  the  founder 
of  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  Amosis  I  (1580^-1577),  achieved  it.  In 
order  to  secure  freedom  from  invasion  the  kings  of  this  dynasty  were 
compelled  to  follow  the  invaders  into  Asia,  and  in  time  Thothmes 
III  (1501-1447)  conquered  Palestine,  Phoenicia,  and  Syria  to 
the  Euphrates,  and  organized  it  into  a  compact  empire,  which 
held  together  until  about  1360.  The  kings  of  this  dynasty  also 
carried  the  conquest  of  Nubia  to  Napata,  at  the  Fourth  Cataract. 
They  wTorked  the  mines  of  Sinai,  traded  with  Punt,  and  inaugu¬ 
rated  the  “empire  period,”  which  lasted  in  reality  till  well  into  the 
twentieth  dynasty,  about  1165,  and  which,  for  convenience,  we 
count  as  extending  to  the  fall  of  the  twenty-first  dynasty  in  945  b.  c. 

The  foreign  conquests  brought  many  immigrants  to  Egypt  and 
also  took  many  Egyptians  for  longer  or  shorter  periods  to  foreign 
lands.  Egyptian  customs  in  dress  as  well  as  the  Egyptian  language 
changed  rapidly  during  this  time.  The  Asiatic  conquests  of 
Thothmes  III  brought  Egypt  into  relations  with  Asiatic  kings,  and 
in  time  his  successors,  Amenophis  III  and  Amenophis  IV,  had  an 
interesting  exchange  of  letters  with  kings  of  Babylon,  Assyria, 
Mitanni,  and  Alashia  (or  Cyprus),  as  well  as  with  Egyptian  vice¬ 
roys  in  Syria  and  Palestine.  Some  of  these  letters  are  translated 
in  Part  II,  p.  344,  ff. 

Amenophis  IV  made  the  first  attempt  known  in  history  to  estab¬ 
lish  a  monotheistic  religion.  Although  it  was  unsuccessful,  it  pro¬ 
duced  a  beautiful  hymn,  which  is  translated  in  Part  II,  p.  403,  ff. 
The  kings  of  this  period  were  buried  in  tombs  of  a  new  type.  These 
were  excavated  out  of  the  solid  rock,  cut  deep  into  the  mountain¬ 
side.  They  were  all  in  the  famous  Valley  of  the  Tombs  of  the 
Kings  back  of  Thebes. 

The  nineteenth  dynasty  succeeded  the  eighteenth  about  1350 
b.  c.  During  a  period  of  weakness  between  the  two,  the  Asiatic 
dominions  had  been  lost.  These  were  in  large  part  reconquered  by 
Seti  I  and  Ramses  II.  The  last-mentioned  king  ruled  67  years, 


30 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


from  1292  to  1225  b.  c.  He  did  much  building  in  all  parts  of 
Egypt  and  Nubia.  Among  his  enterprises  were  the  cities  of  Pithom 
and  Raamses  in  the  Delta.  He  has  long  been  thought  to  have  been 
the  Pharaoh  who  oppressed  the  Hebrews.  Early  in  his  reign  he 
fought  with  the  Hittites,  but  afterward  made  a  treaty  of  peace 
with  their  king  and  married  his  daughter.  The  text  of  this  treaty 
has  been  preserved.  It  is  the  earliest  extant  international  treaty, 
and  it  contained  an  extradition  clause,  though  this  applied  to 
political  offenders  only.  (For  head  of  Ramses,  see  Fig.  9.) 

Merneptah,  the  son  and  successor  of  Ramses  II,  has  been  sup¬ 
posed  to  be  the  Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus.  His  hymn  of  victory  over 
his  enemies  is  translated  in  Part  II,  p.  311. 

In  the  reign  of  Ramses  III,  of  the  twentieth  dynasty  (1198-1167 
b.  c.),  the  Philistines  and  other  tribes,  coming  from  across  the  sea, 
from  Crete  and  Asia  Minor,  invaded  Egypt.  Repulsed  by  him, 
they  invaded  Palestine,  where  they  secured  a  foothold.  Ramses 
IV,  his  successor,  was  the  last  Pharaoh  to  work  the  mines  in  Sinai. 
By  the  reign  of  Ramses  IX  (1142-1123  b.  c.),  Egypt’s  Asiatic  empire 
was  gone  and  her  prosperity  had  so  declined  that  the  natives  of 
Thebes  took  to  robbing  the  tombs  of  kings  for  a  living.  The 
records  of  the  trials  of  some  of  these  have  survived.  In  the  reign 
of  Ramses  XII  (1118-1090  b.  c.),  Wenamon  made  his  famous  ex¬ 
pedition  to  Phoenicia,  a  part  of  which  is  narrated  in  Part  II,  p.  352,  ff. 

The  twenty-first  dynasty  (1090-945  b.  c.)  was  a  line  of  weak 
monarchs,  who  simply  held  Egypt  together.  During  their  rule 
David  built  up  Israel’s  empire.  One  of  them,  either  Siamon  or 
Pesibkhenno  II,  was  the  Pharaoh  whose  daughter  Solomon  married. 
(See  1  Kings  3 : 1,  f . ;  9:16.) 

(8)  The  Period  of  Foreign  Dynasties  (945-663  b.  c.). — During 
the  time  of  the  twenty-first  dynasty  the  Lybians,  who  for  centuries 
had  made  unsuccessful  attempts  to  invade  Egypt,  settled  in  large 
numbers  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  adopted  Egyptian 
customs,  while  some  of  them  became  wealthy  and  powerful.  In 
945  b.  c.  one  of  these,  named  Sheshonk,  founded  the  twenty-second 
dynasty.  This  king  is  the  Shishak  of  the  Bible.  It  was  he  who 
gave  asylum  to  Jeroboam,  when  he  fled  from  Solomon  (1  Kings 
1 1  : 40) ,  and  who  in  the  days  of  Rehoboam  invaded  Palestine. 
(See  1  Kings  14  :  25-28.)  The  dynasty  founded  by  Shishak  lasted 
for  two  hundred  years.  During  the  first  century  of  this  time  it  was 
very  flourishing.  One  of  its  kings,  Osorkon  II,  was  apparently  an 


EGYPT 


31 


ally  of  Ahab;  at  all  events,  a  vase  bearing  Osorkon’s  name  was  found 
at  Samaria  in  Ahab’s  palace.  This  dynasty  made  its  capital  at 
Bubastis  in  the  Egyptian  Delta,  called  Pi-beseth  in  Ezekiel  30  :  17. 

During  the  last  century  of  this  dynasty’s  rule  Nubia,  which  had 
been  for  many  centuries  under  Egyptian  sway,  gained  her  inde¬ 
pendence  under  a  powerful  dynasty  which  made  Napata,  at  the 
Fourth  Cataractj  its  capital.  In  745  b.  c.  the  twenty-second 
dynasty  was  succeeded  by  the  twenty-third,  which  held  a  precari¬ 
ous  existence  until  718,  when  it  was  succeeded  by  the  one  king  of 
the  twenty-fourth.  Egypt  was  during  this  period  in  great  disorder, 
and  in  712  the  Nubian  kings  swept  down  from  the  south  and  con¬ 
quered  the  country,  establishing  the  twenty-fifth  dynasty.  The  con¬ 
trol  thus  passed  from  the  Lybians  to  the  Nubians.  Tirhakah,  the 
third  king  of  this  dynasty,  took  part  in  the  wars  against  Sennacherib 
in  Palestine.  (See  2  Kings  19:9;  Isa.  37  : 9,  and  Part  II,  p.  375,  ff .) 
In  670  Esarhaddon,  King  of  Assyria,  invaded  Egypt,  defeated 
Tirhakah  and  made  all  the  Delta  as  far  as  Memphis  an  Assyrian 
province.  Some  years  later,  when  Tanut-amon,  the  successor  of 
Tirhakah,  endeavored  to  regain  the  Delta,  Assurbanipal,  of  Assyria, 
marched  up  the  Nile,  took  Thebes,  that  for  1,500  years  had  been 
mistress  of  Egypt,  and  during  much  of  that  time  mistress  of  a  large 
part  of  the  then  known  world,  and  barbarously  sacked  it.  This 
was  in  661  b.  c.  This  event  made  a  great  impression  on  surrounding 
nations.  It  is  referred  to  in  Nahum  3  :  8,  where  Thebes  is  called 
No-amon,  or  the  city  of  the  god  Amon. 

(9)  The  Lower  Empire  is  the  name  given  by  scholars  to  the 
period  of  the  twenty-sixth  dynasty,  663-525  b.  c.  This  dynasty 
was  founded  by  Psammetik  I,  who  became  the  viceroy  of  Egypt 
under  Assurbanipal,  of  Assyria,  in  663  b.  c.  Psammetik  was 
descended  from  a  native  Egyptian  family  of  the  city  of  Sais  in  the 
western  Delta,  and  a  number  of  his  ancestors  had  been  prominent 
in  the  history  of  Egypt  during  the  preceding  century.  At  first  he 
was  a  vassal  of  Assyria,  but  soon  troubles  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
Assyrian  dominions  enabled  him  to  make  Egypt  independent. 
The  Egyptians,  finding  themselves  once  more  free  under  a  native 
dynasty,  experienced  a  great  revival  of  national  feeling.  Every¬ 
thing  Egyptian  interested  them.  They  looked  with  particular 
affection  upon  the  age  of  the  pyramid  builders,  who  lived  more  than 
two  thousand  years  before  them.  They  revived  old  names  and  old 
titles,  and  emulated  the  art  of  the  olden  days.  They  manifested 


32 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


such  vigor  and  originality  withal,  that  the  art  of  the  lower  empire 
rivals  that  of  the  best  periods  of  Egyptian  history. 

Necho,  the  son  and  successor  of  Psammetichus,  endeavored,  as 
Assyria  was  declining  to  her  fall,  to  regain  an  Asiatic  empire. 
Josiah,  of  Judah,  who  sought  to  thwart  him,  was  defeated  by  Necho 
and  killed  at  the  battle  of  Megiddo  in  608  b.  c.  (2  Kings  23  :  29). 
Necho  afterward  deposed  Jehoahaz  and  took  him  captive  to 
Egypt  (2  Kings  23  :  34).  Four  years  later,  when  Necho  made  a 
second  campaign  into  Asia,  he  was  defeated  by  Nebuchadrezzar 
at  Charchemish  on  the  Euphrates,  and  compelled  to  hastily  retreat 
to  Egypt,  hotly  pursued  by  the  Babylonians.  Jeremiah,  who  per¬ 
haps  caught  sight  of  the  rapidly  moving  armies  from  the  Judaean 
hills,  has  given  a  vivid  account  of  the  flight  in  Jeremiah  46.  Jere¬ 
miah  considered  this  event  so  important  that  he  began  then  to  com¬ 
mit  his  prophecies  to  writing.  (See  Jeremiah  36.)  After  this 
Necho  devoted  himself  to  the  internal  government  of  Egypt, 
though  he  became  the  patron  of  an  enterprise  for  the  circumnaviga¬ 
tion  of  Africa,  which  was  carried  out  by  some  Phoenicians.  (See 
Herodotus,  IV,  42.)  Hophra,  a  later  king  of  this  dynasty  (588-569 
B.  c.),  in  order  to  gain  influence  in  Asia,  tempted  King  Zedekiah 
to  rebel  against  Babylon,  and  thus  lured  the  little  state  of  Judah 
to  its  destruction.  During  the  reign  of  Hophra’s  successor,  Amo- 
sis  II,  Cyrus  the  Great  founded  the  Persian  empire,  and  in  525  b.  c. 
Cambyses,  the  son  of  Cyrus,  overthrew  the  twenty-sixth  dynasty, 
and  made  Egypt  a  Persian  province. 

(10)  The  Persian  Period. — Cambyses,  after  conquering  Egypt, 
attempted  in  vain  to  conquer  Nubia.  The  Nubian  monarchs  at 
this  time  moved  their  capital  from  Napata,  at  the  Fourth  Cataract, 
to  Meroe,  at  the  Sixth  Cataract.  Darius  (521-485  b.  c.)  ruled 
Egypt  with  great  wisdom  and  tact,  but  under  his  successors  there 
were  frequent  rebellions.  Finally,  in  406  b.  c.,  the  Egyptians  actu¬ 
ally  gained  their  independence,  which  they  maintained  until  342 
B.  c.  During  this  period  three  native  dynasties,  the  twenty-eighth, 
the  twenty-ninth,  and  the  thirtieth,  successively  occupied  the 
throne.  Manetho  counts  the  Persians  as  the  twenty-seventh 
dynasty.  In  342  b.  c.  the  Persians  reconquered  the  country  and 
held  it  for  ten  years  until  it  was  taken  by  Alexander  the  Great. 
This  ten  years  of  Persian  rule  constitutes  Manetho’s  thirty-first 
dynasty. 

(11)  The  Ptolemaic  Period  (332-31  b.  c.). — For  eleven  years 


EGYPT 


33 


Egypt  formed  a  part  of  Alexander’s  empire.  Upon  his  death,  in 
323  b.  c.,  it  fell  to  the  control  of  his  general,  Ptolemy  Lagi,  who 
founded  a  line  of  Ptolemies  that  ruled  until  overthrown  by  Augustus 
in  31  b.  c.  With  the  accession  of  the  Ptolemies  many  Greeks  settled 
in  Egypt;  Greek  became  one  of  the  languages  of  commerce,  and  had 
a  considerable  influence  in  transforming  the  Egyptian  language  into 
Coptic.  Until  the  year  198  b.  c.  the  Ptolemies  controlled  Pales¬ 
tine.  Philadelphus,  the  second  of  the  line,  rebuilt  in  the  Greek 
style  the  city  of  Rabbah  Ammon  east  of  the  Jordan,  and  named  it 
Philadelphia.  He,  like  his  father,  encouraged  many  Jews  to  settle 
in  Alexandria,  and,  according  to  tradition,  became  the  patron  of  the 
translation  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  into  Greek.  At  all 
events,  the  Pentateuch  was  translated  in  his  time,  and  the  trans¬ 
lation  of  the  other  books  followed.  This  translation  is  known  as 
the  “Septuagint”  because  of  the  legend  that  Ptolemy  Philadelphus 
set  72  men  to  translate  it.  By  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era 
there  were  so  many  Jews  in  Alexandria  that  it  had  become  a  second 
Judah. 

(12)  The  Roman  Period. — The  Romans,  upon  conquering  Egypt, 
disturbed  in  no  way  the  internal  affairs  of  the  country.  They  gave 
it  good  government  and  fostered  its  internal  institutions.  Many 
old  Egyptian  customs  persisted  among  the  people;  it  is  in  regard  to 
some  of  these  that  discoveries  of  interest  to  Biblical  scholars  have 
been  made.  From  tombs  and  the  places  in  the  dry  sands  of  the 
desert,  where  waste-baskets  were  emptied,  many  records  have  been 
discovered,  some  of  which  are  translated  in  Part  II,  p.  432,ff.,440,ff. 

Meantime,  a  state  had  developed  out  of  the  old  monarchy  of 
Nubia,  described  above,  which  was  ruled  by  a  woman,  whose 
official  title  was  Candace.  It  was  an  officer  of  hers  to  whom  Philip 
preached,  as  described  in  Acts  8  :  27-39.  Recent  excavations  in 
Nubia  have  recovered  some  of  the  art  of  these  people,  who  became 
Christian  in  the  second  or  third  century,  as  well  as  some  inscrip¬ 
tions  of  theirs  in  a  script  that  is  not  yet  deciphered. 

7.  Egyptian  Discoveries  which  Bear  on  the  Bible : 

(i)  Texts  Bearing  on  the  Story  of  Joseph. — A  number  of  texts 
from  the  Middle  Kingdom  and  other  periods  present  features  simi¬ 
lar  to  parts  of  the  story  of  Joseph  and  afford  somewhat  faint  paral¬ 
lels  to  certain  conceptions  of  the  Hebrew  Prophets.  These  are 
translated  in  Part  II,  p.  300,  ff.,  and  p.  418,  ff. 

The  name  of  Joseph’s  wife,  Asenath  (in  Egyptian  As-Neit, 


34 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


“favorite  of  the  goddess  Neith”) ,  occurs  from  the  eighteenth  dynasty 
onward.  Such  names  as  Potiphar,  the  master  of  Joseph  (Gen. 
39  :  1),  and  Potiphera,  Joseph’s  father-in-law  (Gen.  41  :  45),  in 
Egyptian  Pedefre,  “he  whom  the  god  Re  gives,”  as  well  as  the  name 
given  to  Joseph,  Zaphenath-paneah  (Gen.  41  : 45),  in  Egyptian 
De-pnute-ef-  onkh,  “the  god  speaks  and  he  lives,”  are  common  in 
Egypt  from  the  beginning  of  the  twenty-second  dynasty,  945  b.  c. 

(2)  The  Invasion  of  Egypt  by  the  Hyksos. — This  took  many 
Semites  to  Egypt.  The  very  name  Hyksos  is  held  by  Breasted  to 
mean  “ruler  of  countries.”  It  was  probably  a  title  by  which  these 
kings  called  themselves,  for  they  evidently  ruled  a  considerable 
portion  of  western  Asia,  as  well  as  Egypt.  “Ruler  of  countries” 
is  just  the  Semitic-Babylonian  and  Assyrian  shar-matdti,  a  title 
which  Mesopotamian  kings  gave  to  themselves  through  much  of 
their  history.  It  had  been  employed  by  the  Sumerians  before 
them,  being  the  familiar  Sumerian  lugal  kurkurra ,  “king  of 
countries.”  If  the  Hyksos  were  Amorites,  kinsmen  of  theirs  had 
ruled  in  Babylonia  long  before  their  invasion  of  Egypt,  and  that 
these  may  have  been  Amorites  is  indicated  by  the  name  Jacob-her, 
which  was  borne  by  one  of  their  kings.  This  is  an  Egyptian  form 
of  the  Babylonian  Yagub-ilu ,  or  Jacob-el,  an  Amorite  name  found 
on  business  documents  in  Babylonia  three  or  four  hundred  years 
earlier.  In  the  time  of  Thothmes  III  this  name  was,  Thothmes 
tells  us,  borne  by  a  Palestinian  city,  to  which  it  had  apparently 
been  given  by  some  Amorite  from  Babylonia.  Whether  the 
Hyksos  were  Amorites  or  not,  a  number  of  Semitic  names  were 
given  to  places  in  Lower  Egypt  at  the  time  of  their  occupation. 
Such  was  the  name  Magdol,  or  Migdol.  The  Egyptian  name  of 
Tanis  was  Zar,  which  Brugsch  claims  as  Semitic.  Thakut,  an  old 
name  of  Pithom,  is  the  same  as  the  Semitic  Succoth,  “booths.” 

In  the  winter  of  1905-1906  Petrie,  excavating  at  Tell  el-Ye- 
hudiyeh,1  about  20  miles  north  of  Cairo,  discovered  what  he  believes 
to  have  been  one  of  the  original  encampments  of  the  Hyksos  in 
Egypt.  This  encampment  consisted  of  a  large  space,  averaging 
about  1,500  feet  in  each  direction,  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  sloping 
sand  and  mud.  This  wall,  varying  from  80  to  140  feet  wide  at  the 
top  and  from  130  to  200  feet  wide  at  the  bottom,  presented  on  the 
outer  side  a  long  slope,  and  is  quite  unlike  any  structure  of  the 
native  Egyptians.  From  the  nature  of  the  wall  and  the  small 

1  See  Petrie,  Hyksos  and  the  Israelite  Cities ,  London,  1906. 


EGYPT 


35 


objects  found  near  it,  Petrie  infers  that  it  was  the  rampart  of  a 
people  who  defended  themselves  with  bows  and  arrows.  A  ceme¬ 
tery  of  the  same  level  yielded  to  the  explorer  a  considerable  amount 
of  black  pottery,  not  at  all  like  pottery  of  native  Egyptian  manu¬ 
facture,  and  a  number  of  crude  scarabs.  These  objects  Petrie 
believes  are  products  of  the  art  of  the  Hyksos  before  they  had  been 
in  Egypt  long  enough  to  adopt  Egyptian  civilization.  In  1912 
Petrie  discovered  a  similar  Hyksos  camp  at  the  site  of  Heliopolis, 
the  Biblical  On. 

It  has  been  held  by  many  that  Abraham,  Joseph,  and  Jacob  all 
went  to  Egypt  during  the  reign  of  the  Hyksos  dynasty.  It  would 
be  natural  for  Semites  to  enter  such  a  country,  if  it  were  ruled  by  a 
dynasty  of  the  same  blood  as  themselves.  Egypt  has,  however, 
furnished  no  positive  archaeological  evidence  of  this  view.  The 
Semitic  names  just  alluded  to,  which  are  sometimes  cited  as  evi¬ 
dence  of  it,  in  reality  only  prove  that  many  Semites  came  with  the 
Hyksos.  They  make  it  probable,  indeed,  that  some  of  the  Hyksos 
were  Semites,  but  give  us  no  positive  evidence  concerning  the 
patriarchs.  On  the  other  hand,  nothing  has  been  discovered  in 
Egypt  to  disprove  this  view. 

(3)  The  El-Amarna  Letters. — In  the  winter  of  1887-1888  a  native 
Egyptian  woman,  according  to  one  account,  accidentally  discovered 
some  clay  tablets  in  the  soil  at  Tell  el-Amarna,  about  200  miles 
south  of  Cairo  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Nile.  She  is  said  to  have  sold 
her  rights  in  the  discovery  for  about  50  cents.  It  was  thus  that 
nearly  four  hundred  clay  tablets,  inscribed  in  the  Babylonian  lan¬ 
guage  and  characters,  which  opened  an  entirely  unknown  vista  in 
the  history  of  Palestine  and  the  surrounding  countries,  were  found. 
These  were  letters  written  to  Kings  Amenophis  III  and  Amenophis 
IV,  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty.  (See  §  6  (7).)  Seven  of  them 
were  written  by  Ebed-hepa,  King  of  Jerusalem,  about  1360  b.  c., 
and  give  us  a  glimpse  of  that  city  more  than  350  years  before 
David  conquered  it  for  Israel.  Others  of  the  letters  came  from 
other  cities  of  Palestine  and  Phoenicia,  and  reveal  to  us  through 
contemporary  documents  the  conditions  there  in  the  patriarchal 
age.  Some  of  these  are  translated  in  Part  II,  p.  344,  ff. 

(4)  Period  of  the  Oppression  and  the  Exodus. — The  statement  in 
Exodus  1:11  that  the  Pharaoh  who  oppressed  the  Egyptians  built 
the  store-cities  of  Pithom  and  Raamses,  indicates  that  this  Pharaoh 
wras  Ramses  II,  for  Naville,  who  excavated  the  site  of  Pithom 


36 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


(Egyptian  Pi-tum ,  “House  of  the  god  Turn”)  in  1883,  found  much 
work  of  Ramses  II  there,  including  colossal  statues  of  this  king, 
and  also  found  no  evidence  that  there  had  been  any  town  of  im¬ 
portance  on  the  site  before.1  The  name  of  the  other  city,  Raamses, 
also  points  to  the  same  king,  since  Ramses  I,  the  only  other  king  of 
the  name  Egypt  had  known,  reigned  less  than  two  years — a  time 
insufficient  for  the  building  of  a  city.  The  Bible  evidently  refers, 
then,  to  Ramses  II.  Concerning  Ramses  II  and  his  reign  much  is 
now  known,  as  has  been  pointed  out  in  §  6  (7);  (see  Fig.  10). 

All  through  the  nineteenth  dynasty  peoples  from  Syria  were 
employed  by  the  kings  on  public  works.  Among  these  was  a 
people  called  ‘ prw  =  Aperu  or  Apuri,  which  some  have  thought  to  be 
Hebrews.  Whether  the  Hebrews  are  really  mentioned  in  this  way 
is  doubted  by  others,  for  references  to  the  ‘ prw  do  not  cease  at  the 
time  the  Exodus  of  Israel  must  have  occurred.  They  were  em¬ 
ployed  by  Ramses  IV,  of  the  twentieth  dynasty,  as  late  as  1165  b.  c. 

Much  has  been  learned  from  archaeology  about  Egyptian  brick¬ 
making,  and  it  corresponds  to  the  description  of  it  given  in  Exodus. 
We  have  pictures  of  men  at  the  work.  No  one  thought  of  burning 
bricks  in  Egypt.  The  clay  was  moulded  and  dried  in  the  sun. 
Straw  was  mixed  with  the  clay  to  increase  its  adhesive  quality. 
Naville  says  that  some  of  the  corners  of  some  of  the  buildings  at 
Pithom  were  actually  built  of  bricks  without  straw.  (See  Exod. 
5  :  7-18;  and  Fig.  11.) 

The  name  Pithom  continued  as  one  of  the  names  of  this  store- 
city  or  fortress  until  at  least  250  b.  c.,  for  it  is  found  on  a  pillar 
which  Ptolemy  Philadelphus  set  up  there,  but  side  by  side  with 
this  name  the  place,  all  through  its  history,  bore  the  name  Thakut, 
which  is  philologically  the  Egyptian  equivalent  of  the  Hebrew 
Succoth.  As  this  was  the  first  station  of  the  Hebrews  when  they 
left  Egypt  (Exod.  12  :  37;  13  :  20;  Num.  33  :  5,  6),  Naville  holds 
that  the  Hebrews,  after  leaving  the  land  of  Goshen,  must  have 
passed  out  on  the  south  side  of  the  Isthmus  of  Suez. 

Petrie  believes  that  in  the  winter  of  1905-1906  he  discovered  the 
city  of  Raamses2  at  Tell  el-Retabeh,  eight  miles  west  of  the  site  of 
Pithom,  on  the  Wady  Tumilat.  The  objects  found  here  show 
that  the  site  was  occupied  in  the  time  of  the  Old  Kingdom  and  on¬ 
ward,  but  as  Ramses  II  and  Ramses  III  both  set  up  here  statues 

1  See  Naville,  The  Store-City  of  Pithom  and  the  Route  of  the  Exodus,  4th  ed.,  London,  1903. 

2  See  Petrie,  Eyksos  and  the  Israelite  Cities,  p.  28.  f. 


EGYPT 


37 


of  themselves,  and  erected  important  buildings,  and  as  the  location 
is  the  only  one  that  fulfils  the  conditions  of  the  city  Raamses, 
Petrie  feels  confident  that  this  was  the  site.  This  view  receives 
some  confirmation  from  the  title  of  an  officer  who  served  here  under 
Ramses  III,  and  who  is  called:  “Chief  archer,  keeper  of  the  gran¬ 
aries,  keeper  of  the  palace;  chief  archer,  keeper  of  the  granaries  of 
Arabia  (or  Syria).” 

Merneptah,  who  is  generally  supposed  to  have  been  the  Pharaoh 
under  whom  the  Exodus  occurred,  was  not  drowned  in  the  Red  Sea, 
as  some  have  wrongly  inferred  from  Exod.  14  :  23-28,  but  was  duly 
buried  like  his  predecessors.  His  mummy  has  been  found  and  is 
now  in  the  Gizeh  Museum  at  Cairo. 

Merneptah  in  the  fifth  year  of  his  reign  set  up  a  hymn  of  victory 
on  a  pillar  in  a  temple  erected  by  his  father,  Ramses  II.  This 
hymn,  discovered  by  Petrie  in  1896,  is  famous  as  the  only  writing 
outside  the  Bible  that  mentions  Israel  by  name.  A  part  of  it  is 
translated  in  Part  II,  p.  311,  where  its  bearing  on  the  Exodus  is 
discussed;  (see  Fig.  15). 

(5)  Campaign  of  Sheshonk  I. — The  record  on  a  wall  of  the 
temple  of  Karnak  in  Egypt  by  Sheshonk  I,  the  Shishak  of  1  Kings 
14  :  25,  of  his  campaign  in  Palestine,  confirms  the  statement  of 
Kings  and  puts  the  whole  campaign  in  a  new  perspective.  It  is 
treated  in  detail  in  Part  II,  p.  359,  f. 

(6)  Papyri  Discovered  at  Elephantine. — In  recent  years  papyri 
discovered  at  Elephantine,  an  island  in  the  First  Cataract,  reveal 
the  existence  of  a  Jewish  colony  there,  which  had  a  Jewish  temple 
on  the  island.  This  colony  was  established  there  at  some  time 
during  the  twenty-sixth  dynasty,  and  was  thus  one  of  the  earliest 
of  those  Jewish  settlements  in  foreign  countries  which  formed  the 
dispersion.  A  number  of  the  records  of  these  papyri,  ydiich  relate 
the  fortunes  of  this  temple,  the  relations  of  this  colony  to  their 
Egyptian  neighbors  and  their  knowledge  of  the  law,  are  translated 
in  Part  II,  p.  387,  ff.  The  origin  of  the  colony  is  also  discussed 
there. 

(7)  The  Palace  of  Hophra. — Hophra,  of  the  twenty-sixth  dynasty, 
was,  as  noted  in  §  6  (9),  the  king  who  lured  Judah  to  her  ruin. 
Petrie  in  1907  discovered  his  palace  at  Memphis.  The  discovery 
makes  Hophra  seem  a  little  more  real.1 

(8)  The  Castle  at  Tahpanhes. — We  learn  from  Jer.  43  :  7,  8  and 

1  See  Petrie,  The  Palace  oj  Apries,  London,  1909. 


38 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


44  :  1  that,  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  Jeremiah  with  many 
other  Jews  fled  to  Tahpanhes  in  Egypt  and  established  a  Jewish 
colony  there.  Jeremiah,  as  a  symbolical  act,  was  directed  to  hide 
some  stones  in  the  cement  of  the  tiled  area  of  the  court  of  Pharaoh’s 
house  there  (Jer.  43  :  8).  Tahpanhes  was  the  Daphne  of  the 
Greeks.  It  was  on  the  site  of  the  modern  Tell  Defenneh.  This 
was  in  ancient  times  the  easternmost  city  of  the  northern  Delta. 
A  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  desert  stretched  away  to  the  east  of 
it,  until  one  came  to  the  gardens  of  Gaza  in  Palestine.  Petrie  ex¬ 
cavated  Tell  Defenneh  in  1883-1884,  and  discovered  the  large 
castle  there,  which  is  probably  the  building  in  which  Jeremiah 
buried  his  stones.  This  was  the  last  act  of  Jeremiah’s  life  of  which 
we  have  any  record.  He  wTas  then  an  old  man  and  apparently  died 
soon  afterward,  probably  at  Tahpanhes,  certainly  in  Egypt. 

(9)  The  Jewish  Temple  at  Leontopolis. — Josephus  tells  us  twice, 
once  in  his  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  Book  XIII,  Chapter  III,  and  again 
in  his  Wars  of  the  Jews,  Book  VII,  Chapter  X,  that,  wrhen  Jonathan, 
the  Maccabee,  was  made  high  priest  of  the  Jews,  about  153  b.  c., 
Onias,  the  son  of  Onias  III,  the  deposed  high  priest,  went  to 
Egypt  and  obtained  a  grant  of  land  and  permission  to  build  a 
Jewish  temple.  This  land  was  in  the  region  of  the  city  of  Bubastis, 
the  nome  where  the  cat  goddess  was  sacred,  and  was  accordingly 
called  by  the  Greeks  Leontopolis.  There  were  at  this  time  about 
as  many  Jews  in  Egypt  as  in  Palestine,  and  doubtless  Ptolemy  VII 
thought  to  keep  them  more  loyal  by  granting  them  a  temple.  He 
gave  to  Onias  the  revenues  of  a  considerable  territory  for  the  sup¬ 
port  of  the  temple.  Josephus  tells  us  that  Onias  urged  as  a  reason 
for  the  construction  of  this  temple  that  it  would  be  in  fulfilment  of 
the  prophecy  in  Isa.  19  :  19-22.  Josephus  goes  on  to  say  that 
this  temple  was  built  as  an  exact  reproduction  of  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem  and  that  it  continued  to  exist  as  a  place  of  worship  until 
after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus,  when  troubles  caused 
by  Jewish  zealots  led  the  Roman  government  to  close  the  temple 
at  Leontopolis  and  discontinue  its  worship;  (see  Fig.  12). 

The  site  of  this  temple  was  at  Tell  el-Yehudiyeh,  the  “Tell  of 
the  Jewess,”  about  20  miles  north  of  Cairo.  This  tell  was  excavated 
by  Petrie  in  1905-1906.  He  found  there  remains  of  the  Jewish 
temple,  which  fully  confirm  the  statements  of  Josephus.  Not  only 
the  temple,  but  the  form  of  the  Jewish  settlement,  was  made  as 
far  as  possible  a  replica  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem.  One  of  the 


EGYPT 


39 


most  interesting  discoveries  was  a  series  of  ovens  for  the  roasting 
of  Paschal  lambs.  Others  of  a  similar  character  were  found  higher 
up  in  the  mound,  but  this  first  series  was  most  numerous.  Petrie 
infers  that  the  temple  was  dedicated  by  a  great  Passover  Feast,  to 
which  Jews  came  in  large  numbers  from  throughout  Egypt;1  (see 
Fig.  13). 

(10)  Papyri  from  Oxyrhynchus. — About  123  miles  south  of  Cairo 
and  nine  miles  to  the  west  of  the  Nile  lies  the  town  of  Behnesa, 
which  the  Greeks  called  Oxyrhynchus,  from  a  sharp-nosed  fish  which 
was  sacred  there.  Since  1897  Grenfell  and  Hunt,  two  English  ex¬ 
plorers,  have  been  season  after  season  exploring  the  rubbish  heaps 
of  the  old  town.  The  inhabitants  committed  the  contents  of  their 
waste-baskets  to  the  sands,  and  on  account  of  the  dry  climate 
these  have  never  decayed.  Here  were  found  the  “ Sayings  of  Jesus,” 
some  of  the  documents  concerning  the  Roman  census,  and  some  of 
the  letters  translated  in  Part  II,  pp.  432,  ff .,  440,  ff.,  as  well  as  many 
remains  of  the  works  of  classical  authors.  Similar  documents  have 
been  found  in  other  parts  of  Egypt,  but  no  other  site  has  yielded  as 
many  as  Oxyrhynchus. 

(id  Discoveries  in  Nubia. — During  the  winter  of  1908-1909 
Maclver  explored  at  Karanog  in  Nubia  for  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania.  He  found  in  a  cemetery  many  remains  of  the 
civilization  of  the  Christian  Nubians.  They  still  called  their 
queen  Candace  (see  Acts  8  :  27),  fed  her  on  milk,  and  regarded 
obesity  as  an  attribute  of  royalty.  More  will  be  known  of  the 
Nubians  of  this  period  when  the  inscriptions  discovered  at  Karanog 
and  at  Shablul,  deciphered  by  Mr.  Griffith,  have  been  more  com¬ 
pletely  studied.  The  explorations  of  the  English  at  Meroe  have 
afforded  a  connected  view  of  the  development  of  this  Nubian  civili¬ 
zation.  They  found  there  the  remains  of  an  early  period  extending 
from  about  650-400  b.  c.,  which  was  followed  by  about  a  century 
when  the  royal  residence  was  elsewhere,  a  middle  period  from  300 
to  1  b.  c.,  during  the  latter  part  of  which  Hellenic  influences  were 
felt,  and  a  late  period,  from  1  to  350  a.  d.,  during  which  Roman 
forms  of  art  penetrated  the  country.2 

1  See  Petrie,  Hyksos  and  the  Israelite  Cities,  p.  191,  ff. 

2  See  Annals  of  Archaeology  and  Anthropology,  VII,  Liverpool,  1914,  pp.  1-10. 


CHAPTER  II 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 

The  Land.  The  Preservation  oe  Antiquities.  The  Discovery  of  Antiquities: 
By  Benjamin  of  Tudela.  By  Rich.  By  Botta  and  Place.  By  Layard.  By  Loftus 
and  Rawlinson.  By  Oppert  and  Rassam.  By  George  Smith.  By  Sarzec.  By  Peters, 
Ward,  and  Haynes.  By  Koldeway.  ByAndrae.  By  de  Morgan.  By  Harper  and  Banks. 
By  Genouillac.  The  Decipherment  of  the  Inscriptions:  By  Niebuhr.  By  Grote- 
fend,  De  Sacy,  and  Rawlinson.  Babylonian  column.  Babylonian-Semitic.  Chro¬ 
nology.  Outline  of  the  History:  The  prehistoric  period.  Sumerians.  The  Pre- 
Babylonian  period.  “Stele  of  the  Vultures.”  The  early  Babylonian  period.  Kassites. 
Pashe  dynasty.  The  early  Assyrian  period.  The  second  Assyrian  period.  The  Neo- 
Babylonian  period.  The  Persian  period.  The  Greek  and  Parthian  periods.  Dis¬ 
coveries  which  Illumine  the  Bible. 


1.  The  Land. — The  Mesopotamian  Valley,  as  the  great  region 
watered  by  the  Tigris  and  the  Euphrates  Rivers  is  called,  in  many 
respects  resembles  Egypt,  although  in  other  respects  it  differs 
strikingly  from  Egypt.  The  country  is  like  Egypt  in  that  it  is 
formed  by  rivers;  it  differs  from  Egypt  in  that  it  has  two  rivers 
instead  of  one.  In  late  geologic  time  the  Persian  Gulf  extended 
far  up  toward  the  Mediterranean.  All  of  what  was  Babylonia  has 
been  formed  by  detritus  (silt)  brought  down  by  the  Tigris  and  the 
Euphrates.  The  process  of  forming  land  is  still  going  on.  At  the 
head  of  the  Persian  Gulf  about  seventy  feet  a  year  is  still  formed 
in  this  way,  or  a  mile  in  about  seventy-five  years. 

Both  the  Tigris  and  the  Euphrates  rise  in  the  mountainous  re¬ 
gions  of  Armenia,  on  opposite  sides  of  the  same  range  of  mountains. 
The  melting  of  the  snows  on  these  mountains  gives  both  rivers, 
like  the  Nile,  a  period  of  overflow.  As  the  source  of  the  Tigris  is 
on  the  south  side  of  the  mountains,  it  begins  to  rise  first.  Its  rise 
begins  about  the  first  of  March,  its  overflow  is  at  its  height  in 
May,  and  the  water  recedes  in  June  or  July.  The  Euphrates 
begins  to  rise  about  the  middle  of  March,  continues  to  rise  until 
June,  and  does  not  recede  to  its  ordinary  level  until  September. 
The  soil  thus  formed  is  of  rich  materials,  and  the  retreating  flood 
leaves  it  each  year  well  watered  and  softened  for  agriculture.  Here, 
as  in  Egypt,  one  of  the  earliest  civilizations  of  the  world  developed. 

40 


PETERS, ENflRS., BOSTON 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


41 


It  was  quite  independent  of  that  in  Egypt,  and  consequently  dif¬ 
fered  from  the  Egyptian  in  many  respects.  Unlike  Egypt,  Baby¬ 
lonia  had  a  rainy  season;  nevertheless  she  was  mainly  dependent 
upon  the  overflow  of  the  rivers  for  her  irrigation  and  her  fertility. 
As  she  possessed  two  rivers,  her  breadth  was  greater  than  that  of 
Egypt,  but  she  lacked  the  contiguity  of  protecting  deserts,  such  as 
Egypt  possessed.  All  through  her  history  her  fertile  plains  at¬ 
tracted  the  mountain  dwellers  of  the  East  and  the  peoples  of  the 
West.  Subject  to  frequent  invasion  by  these,  Babylonia  had  no 
long  peaceful  development'  such  as  Egypt  enjoyed  before  the 
Hyksos  invasion.  From  before  the  beginning  of  written  history 
race  mingled  with  race  in  this  great  valley,  invasions  were  fre¬ 
quent,  and  the  construction  of  permanent  empires  difficult. 

The  breadth  of  the  Mesopotamian  Valley  affected  also  the 
building  materials  and  the  character  of  the  art.  Stone  was  much 
more  difficult  to  obtain  than  in  Egypt.  Clay  only  was  abun¬ 
dant.  All  buildings  were  consequently  of  brick.  These  structures 
were  far  less  enduring  than  those  in  Egypt;  their  upper  parts 
have  disintegrated  and  buried  the  low*er  portions.  Babylonian 
rums  are  accordingly  all  under  ground.  The  abundant  clay  was 
also  used  by  the  Babylonians  as  waiting  material.  When  baked, 
it  proved  far  more  enduring  than  the  Egyptian  papyrus.  Thus, 
notwithstanding  the  general  similarities  which  the  Mesopotamian 
Valley  presents  to  Egypt,  its  differences  profoundly  affected 
Babylonian  history  and  Babylonian  art. 

2.  The  Preservation  of  Antiquities. — Babylonian  cities  were 
usually  built  on  terraces  of  brick.  The  walls  of  the  cities  and 
their  buildings  were  constructed  of  the  same  material.  Refuse 
from  the  houses  in  these  towns  was  always  thrown  out  into  the 
streets,  so  that,  as  the  centuries  passed,  the  streets  were  gradu¬ 
ally  elevated.  The  walls  of  the  brick  houses  gradually  became 
unstable  in  the  lapse  of  time,  and  as  the  houses  were  repaired  they 
were  brought  up  to  the  level  of  the  street.  Consequently  even  in 
peaceful  times  the  mounds  on  which  the  cities  were  built  gradually 
grew  higher.  Most  of  these  cities  were  at  various  times  destroyed 
in  warfare.  Sometimes  all  the  houses  would  be  partially  demolished 
and  the  site  would  be  for  a  time  practically  uninhabited.  When 
at  length  the  place  was  repeopled,  the  top  of  the  mound  would  be 
smoothed  off  and  taken  as  the  base  of  a  new  city.  In  this  way 
through  the  many  centuries  of  Babylonian  history  the  sites  of  her 


42 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


cities  have  become  great  mounds.  When  these  cities  finally  fell 
into  ruin,  the  clay  of  the  upper  part  of  the  walls  gradually  disin¬ 
tegrated  in  the  weather  and  formed  a  coating  of  earth  over  the 
whole,  which  preserved  the  foundations  of  the  walls  both  of  cities 
and  houses,  as  well  as  the  inscribed  clay,  stone  tablets,  and  the 
works  of  art  buried  underneath. 

Connected  with  each  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  temple  was  a 
kind  of  staged  tower,  shaped  in  a  general  way  like  the  stepped 
pyramid  of  Zoser  at  Sakkarah  in  Egypt.  The  Babylonians  called 
these  towers  Ziggurats.  As  the  bricks  of  these  towers  decayed, 
they  formed  in  connection  with  the  city  mound  a  kind  of  hillock 
or  peak,  which  varied  in  accordance  with  the  height  of  the  tower. 
The  ruin  of  the  Ziggurat  at  Birs  Nimrud,  the  ancient  Borsippa,  is 
one  of  the  most  imposing  to  be  seen  in  ancient  Babylonia;  it  was 
long  thought  to  be  the  original  of  the  Tower  of  Babel  (Gen.  11  :  9). 
It  thus  came  about  that  no  ancient  temple  of  Babylonia,  like  some 
of  those  in  Egypt,  has  remained  above  ground.  Explorers  have 
had  to  dig  to  discover  antiquities;  (see  Fig.  22). 

3.  The  Discovery  of  Antiquities:  By  Benjamin  of  Tudela. — 
The  first  man  from  western  Europe  who  traveled  through  Baby¬ 
lonia  and  Assyria  and  noted  their  ruins  was  a  Jew,  Benjamin  of 
Tudela,  in  the  kingdom  of  Navarre.  Leaving  home  about  1160 
a.  d.,  he  traveled  through  Palestine,  crossed  the  desert  by  way  of 
Tadmor,  visited  Mosul  opposite  ancient  Nineveh,  and  went  south¬ 
ward  to  the  site  of  Babylon.  He  also  saw  the  ruin  of  Birs  Nimrud, 
and  believed  it  to  be  the  Tower  of  Babel.  Between  the  sixteenth 
and  eighteenth  centuries  many  other  travelers  visited  the  Mesopo¬ 
tamian  Valley  and  described  what  they  saw.  Some  of  these, 
toward  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  described  curious  in¬ 
scriptions  which  they  had  seen  there  on  bricks.  This  information 
led  the  British  East  India  Company  in  1797  to  instruct  its  resident 
at  Bussorah,  in  southern  Babylonia,  to  try  to  secure  some  of  these 
inscriptions.  This  he  did,  and  early  in  1801  the  first  case  of  in¬ 
scribed  bricks  arrived  at  the  East  India  House  in  London,  where 
they  are  still  preserved. 

By  Rich. — Early  in  the  nineteenth  century  Claude  James  Rich 
became  resident  of  the  East  India  Company  at  Bagdad.  In  his 
travels  through  the  region  he  visited  the  mounds  of  Hillah  (Baby¬ 
lon),  Kouyunjik  (Nineveh),  and  others,  where  he  made  some  slight 
excavations,  and  found  many  inscriptions.  The  smaller  ones  he 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


43 


added  to  his  collection,  but  many  of  them  were  of  too  monumental 
a  character  to  be  removed.  Through  these  efforts  a  wide-spread 
interest  was  aroused. 

By  Botta  and  Place. — In  1842  the  French  government  created  a 
vice-consulate  at  Mosul,  opposite  the  site  of  ancient  Nineveh,  and 
appointed  to  the  position  Paul  Emil  Botta,  who  had  served  as 
French  consul  at  Alexandria  in  Egypt.  Botta’s  mission  wras  made 
in  part  archaeological.  In  December,  1842,  Botta  began  digging 
in  the  mound  of  Kouyunjik,  the  site  of  ancient  Nineveh.  Here  he 
wrorked  for  three  months.  As  he  found  only  a  few  inscribed  bricks 
and  the  fragments  of  some  bas-reliefs,  he  became  discouraged,  and 
changed  the  field  of  his  operations  to  a  mound  called  Khorsabad, 
situated  about  fourteen  miles  to  the  northeast  of  Kouyunjik. 
Here  he  discovered  a  palace  filled  with  interesting  inscribed  bas- 
reliefs  made  of  alabaster,  as  well  as  a  city  about  a  mile  in  cir¬ 
cumference.  Under  the  corners  of  the  palace  and  under  the  city 
gates  were  many  inscribed  cylinders  of  clay.  This  proved  to  be 
the  palace  and  city  built  by  Sargon,  King  of  Assyria  (722-705  b.  c.), 
as  his  new  capital.  He  named  it  Dur-Sharrukin,  or  Sargonsburgh. 
His  name  had  so  entirely  disappeared  from  ancient  literature  that 
only  one  reference  to  him  has  survived,  that  in  Isaiah  20  :  1,  but 
here  was  his  palace  arising  from  the  dust  together  with  abundant 
annals  of  his  reign.  (See  Part  II,  p.  369,  ff.) 

Botta  and  his  successor,  Victor  Place,  excavated  intermittently 
at  Khorsabad  for  ten  years,  uncovering  the  palace  and  making  a 
plan  of  it,  excavating  the  city  walls  and  gates,  studying  the  drain¬ 
age  of  the  ancient  town,  and  fully  describing  the  whole.  Although 
a  part  of  the  antiquities  found  were  lost  in  the  Tigris  by  the  wreck 
of  a  raft  on  which  they  were  being  floated  down  the  river,  a  large 
collection  reached  France,  where  they  are  preserved  in  the  Louvre. 

By  Layard. — The  success  of  Botta  fired  the  enthusiasm  of  Austen 
Henry  Layard,  a  young  Englishman  of  Huguenot  descent,  who 
began  to  excavate  in  1845  at  Nimrud,  a  mound  further  down  the 
Tigris  than  Mosul,  and  the  site  of  the  Biblical  Calah  (Gen.  10  :  11). 
His  money  was  at  first  furnished  by  a  few  friends,  but  as  he  soon 
discovered  a  royal  palace  there  similar  to  the  one  Botta  had  un¬ 
earthed  at  Khorsabad,  the  trustees  of  the  British  Museum  com¬ 
missioned  him  to  excavate  for  them.  He  thus  continued  the  work 
intermittently  until  1849.  During  this  time  he  spent  most  of 
his  energy  upon  the  mound  of  Kouyunjik,  where  he  discovered 


44 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


another  royal  palace.  This  palace  proved  to  be  the  work  of  Sen¬ 
nacherib,  the  son  of  Sargon  (named  in  2  Kings  18  :  13;  Isa.  36), 
who  built  the  one  at  Khorsabad,  while  the  palace  at  Calah  wTas,  in 
its  final  form,  the  work  of  Esarhaddon,  the  son  of  Sennacherib. 
(See  2  Kings  19 :  37.)  The  palace  at  Nineveh  had  in  turn  been 
repaired  by  Esarhaddon’s  son,  Assurbanipal. 

By  Loftus  and  Rawlinson. — As  these  excavations  progressed, 
others  were  stimulated  to  make  minor  explorations.  Thus  in  1850 
William  Kennett  Loftus  carried  on  small  excavations  at  the  mound 
of  Warka,  the  site  of  the  Biblical  Erech  (Gen.  10  :  10),  in  south¬ 
ern  Babylonia,  from  which  he  recovered  important  antiquities. 
From  1851-1855  the  oversight  of  English  excavations  was  entrusted 
to  Sir  Henry  C.  Rawlinson,  the  British  consul-general  at  Bagdad. 
Under  his  direction  J.  E.  Taylor,  British  vice-consul  at  Bassorah, 
made  an  excavation  at  the  mound  of  Mugheir,  the  site  of  Ur  of 
the  Chaldees,  where  he  unearthed  important  inscriptions.  At  the 
same  time  Loftus  was  traveling  about  Babylonia  collecting  an¬ 
tiquities. 

By  Oppert  and  Rassam. — In  1852  a  French  expedition  under  the 
direction  of  Jules  Oppert  reached  Babylonia.  Oppert  made  im¬ 
portant  excavations  at  Hillah,  the  site  of  the  city  of  Babylon,  and 
at  Birs  Nimrud,  the  ancient  Borsippa.  In  1852  Hormuzd  Rassam, 
who  had  been  one  of  Layard’s  helpers,  continued  under  Rawlinson’s 
direction  the  excavation  at  Nineveh.  This  work  continued  until 
1854;  Rassam  had  the  good  fortune  to  find,  in  a  part  of  the  mound 
previously  untouched,  still  another  palace.  This  was  the  palace 
of  Assurbanipal,  the  last  of  Assyria’s  great  kings,  wTho  ruled  from 
668  to  626  b.  c.,  and  who  collected  here  a  great  library.  This 
library  Rassam  discovered,  and  as  it  contained  every  variety  of 
Babylonian  and  Assyrian  literature,  including  dictionaries  and 
grammatical  exercises,  it  was  one  of  the  most  important  archaeo¬ 
logical  discoveries  ever  made.  During  the  last  part  of  the  time 
Rassam  was  succeeded  by  Loftus.  Finally,  in  the  autumn  of  1854, 
Rawlinson  himself  undertook  an  excavation  at  Birs  Nimrud,  and 
unearthed  some  important  inscriptions  of  Nebuchadrezzar  II, 
King  of  Babylon,  604-562  b.  c.  (See  2  Kings  24,  25.) 

After  this  the  interest  in  excavation  waned  for  a  time,  while 
scholars  were  busy  reading  the  tablets  already  found. 

By  George  Smith. — In  December,  1872,  George  Smith,  an  em¬ 
ployee  of  the  British  Museum,  announced  that  among  the  tablets 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


45 


from  Nineveh  he  had  found  an  account  of  the  flood  which  closely 
resembled  that  in  the  Bible.  This  aroused  so  much  interest  that 
the  proprietors  of  the  London  Daily  Telegraph  contributed  money 
to  send  George  Smith  to  Assyria  to  explore  further  the  mounds 
there.  George  Smith  thus  led  two  expeditions  of  exploration,  one 
in  1873  and  the  other  in  1874.  He  extended  the  trenches  of  his 
predecessors  at  Nineveh  and  discovered  many  more  important 
inscriptions.  In  1876  he  was  on  his  way  to  Mesopotamia  for  the 
third  time,  when  he  died  of  fever  at  Aleppo.  The  British  Museum 
immediately  secured  the  services  of  Rassam  again,  who  during 
that  year  and  1877  extended  the  work  at  Kouyunjik  (Nineveh) 
and  also  found  a  palace  of  Shalmaneser  III,  King  of  Assyria,  860- 
824  b.  c.,  at  a  mound  called  Balawat,  situated  to  the  east  of 
Kouyunjik. 

By  Sarzec. — Meantime,  the  interest  of  France  was  again  aroused, 
and  in  1877  her  consul  at  Bassorah,  Ernest  de  Sarzec,  began  the 
excavation  of  Telloh,  a  mound  in  southern  Babylonia,  which  turned 
out  to  be  the  site  of  Shirpurla  or  Lagash,  one  of  the  oldest  and 
most  important  of  the  ancient  cities  of  Babylonia.  Work  was 
carried  on  at  intervals  here  by  Sarzec  until  his  death  in  1901,  and 
has  since  been  continued  by  Gaston  Cros.  The  results  have  not 
received  the  popular  acclaim  accorded  to  the  discoveries  of  Botta 
and  Layard,  but  scientifically  they  are  far  more  important.  Some 
of  the  oldest  examples  of  Babylonian  art  have  been  discovered,  as 
well  as  many  thousands  of  tablets.  One  room  alone  contained 
an  archive  of  business  documents  estimated  at  thirty  thousand. 
Much  of  our  knowledge  of  the  history  of  early  Babylonia  is  derived 
from  material  found  at  Telloh. 

By  Peters ,  Ward ,  and  Haynes. — In  1884  America  began  to  take 
an  interest  in  Babylonian  exploration.  This  was  due  largely  to 
the  initiative  of  Dr.  John  P.  Peters,  then  Professor  of  Hebrew  in 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  now  Rector  of  St.  Michael’s 
Church,  New  York.  Through  his  efforts  Miss  Catharine  L.  Wolfe, 
of  New  York,  contributed  the  money  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
an  expedition  to  Babylonia  for  a  preliminary  survey.  This  ex¬ 
pedition  was  led  by  Dr.  William  Hayes  Ward,  Editor  of  the  New 
York  Independent.  It  spent  the  winter  of  1884-1885  in  Mesopota¬ 
mia,  made  many  observations  of  the  various  mounds,  and  col¬ 
lected  some  archaeological  material.  Dr.  Peters  continued  his 
efforts,  and  as  a  result  a  fund  was  raised  in  Philadelphia  to  defray 


46 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


the  expenses  of  an  excavation  in  the  interest  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania.  This  expedition  set  out  in  1888  under  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  Dr.  Peters.  The  site  chosen  for  the  exploration  was  Nuffar, 
about  sixty  miles  to  the  southeast  of  Babylon.  The  work  was  con¬ 
tinued  for  two  seasons  under  the  direct  control  of  Dr.  Peters. 
After  an  interruption  of  three  years  the  work  was  resumed  under 
the  general  direction  of  Dr.  Peters,  with  Dr.  John  H.  Haynes  as 
Field  Director.  Dr.  Haynes,  in  the  most  self-sacrificing  and  heroic 
manner,  continued  the  work  both  summer  and  winter  until  Febru¬ 
ary,  1896,  laying  bare  many  of  the  features  of  the  ancient  city  of 
Nippur,  which  had  occupied  the  site,  and  discovering  many  in¬ 
scribed  tablets.  While  this  work  was  in  progress  Prof.  Herman 
V.  Hilprecht  became  nominal  head  of  the  expedition  on  account 
of  the  removal  of  Dr.  Peters  to  New  York.  A  fourth  expedition 
under  the  guidance  of  Dr.  Haynes  began  work  at  Nuffar  (Nippur) 
in  February,  1899,  and  worked  until  March,  1900.  During  this 
work  Dr.  Haynes  discovered  a  large  archive  of  tablets,  the  exact 
number  of  which  is  variously  estimated.  The  find  was  similar  to 
that  made  by  Sarzec  at  Telloh;  (see  Figs.  16  and  17). 

Nuffar,  the  ancient  Nippur,  was  one  of  the  oldest  centers  of 
Babylonian  civilization,  and  the  work  of  the  Americans  there  is, 
for  our  knowledge  of  the  history  of  ancient  Babylonia,  next  in 
importance  to  that  done  by  the  French  at  Telloh.  A  large  num¬ 
ber  of  the  tablets  discovered  at  Nippur  are  now  in  the  University 
Museum  in  Philadelphia.  Meantime,  the  Turkish  government 
had  undertaken  on  its  own  account  an  excavation  at  Abu  Haba,  the 
site  of  the  ancient  Sippar  in  northern  Babylonia.  The  direction 
of  the  work  was  committed  to  the  oversight  of  the  French  Assyriol- 
ogist,  Pere  Scheil,  and  the  work  was  carried  on  in  the  early  part 
of  the  year  1894.  Much  interesting  material  was  brought  to  light. 

By  Koldewey. — Also  during  this  decade  a  new  Society,  the 
Orient-Gesellschaft,  had  been  formed  in  Berlin  for  the  purpose  of 
excavation.  This  Society  began  in  1899  the  excavation  of  the 
great  mound  which  covered  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  city  of  Babylon. 
The  work  was  committed  to  the  direction  of  Dr.  Robert  Koldewey, 
who  has  carried  it  steadily  forward  until  the  present  time.  Kolde¬ 
wey  has  laid  bare  at  Babylon  a  number  of  the  great  works  of  King 
Nebuchadrezzar — the  magnificent  walls  with  which  he  surrounded 
Babylon,  and  the  palace  and  temples  with  which  he  adorned  it. 
As  the  work  at  Babylon  has  progressed,  Koldewey  has  made  a 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


47 


number  of  minor  excavations  in  smaller  mounds  of  Babylonia. 
During  the  season  of  1912-1913  Dr.  Julius  Jordan  undertook,  under 
Dr.  Koldewey’s  general  direction,  an  excavation  at  Warka,  the 
Biblical  Erech,  where  Loftus  had  dug  sixty  years  before.  A  part 
of  the  great  temple  of  Ishtar  has  been  uncovered  by  Dr.  Jordan, 
together  with  a  portion  of  the  city  wall  and  many  houses.  Many 
tablets  have  also  been  found,  some  of  them  having  been  written  as 
late  as  the  Seleucid  and  Parthian  periods,  312-50  b.  c.  ;  (see  Fig.  18). 

By  Andrae. — While  the  excavation  at  Babylon  has  been  in 
progress,  the  Orient-Gesellschaft  has  also  conducted  another  at 
Kalah-Sherghat,  on  the  Tigris,  in  ancient  Assyria.  This  is  the  site 
of  the  city  of  Ashur,  from  which  the  country  of  Assyria  took  its 
name.  (Cf.  Gen.  10  :  10,  11.)  The  work  has  been  under  the 
direction  of  Dr.  Andrae  and  has  been  in  progress  from  1902  to  the 
present  time.  Temples  and  palaces  have  been  uncovered,  and 
inscriptions  from  every  period  of  Assyrian  history  have  been 
found.  The  latest  reports  of  the  work  at  Ashur  tell  of  the  discovery 
of  objects  which  connect  the  founding  of  the  city  with  immigrants 
from  Lagash  in  southern  Babylonia. 

By  de  Morgan. — In  1900  a  French  expedition  began  the  exca¬ 
vation  of  Susa,  in  ancient  Elam,  the  Shushan  of  the  Bible.  (See 
Neh.  1:1;  Esther  1  :  2,  etc.,  and  Dan.  8  :  2.)  This  work  was  under 
the  direction  of  J.  de  Morgan.  While  Susa  is  not  in  Babylonia, 
the  excavations  here  added  greatly  to  our  knowledge  of  Babylonian 
history  and  life,  for  during  the  first  two  seasons  of  the  excavation, 
two  inscribed  stone  pillars  were  discovered,  which  the  ancient 
Elamites  had  at  some  time  taken  as  trophies  of  war  from  the 
Babylonians.  One  of  these  was  an  inscription  of  Manishtusu, 
King  of  Kish,  who  ruled  about  2700  b.  c.,  and  the  other  the  pillar 
which  contained  the  laws  of  Hammurapi,  the  most  important 
single  document  relating  to  Babylonian  life  that  is  known  to  us. 
(See  Part  II,  Chapter  XIII.) 

By  Harper  and  Banks. — During  the  year  1903-1904  the  Uni¬ 
versity  of  Chicago  sent  an  expedition  to  Babylonia.  The  expenses 
were  borne  by  a  contribution  from  John  D.  Rockefeller.  The 
late  Prof.  Robert  Harper  was  Scientific  Director  of  the  expedition, 
and  Dr.  Edgar  J.  Banks,  Field  Director.  The  work  was  con¬ 
ducted  at  the  mound  of  Bismya,  which  proved  to  be  the  site  of  the 
ancient  city  of  Adab,  one  of  the  oldest  Babylonian  cities,  which 
seems  not  to  have  been  occupied  since  about  2600  b.  c.  Many 


48 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


interesting  finds  were  made,  including  a  statue  of  a  king,  Lugalda- 
udu,  and  many  tablets.  Friction  with  the  Turkish  government 
brought  the  expedition  to  an  untimely  close,  and  owing  to  the 
same  cause  the  tablets  discovered  are  hoarded  at  Constantinople 
and  have  not  been  given  to  the  world. 

By  GenouiUac. — During  the  early  part  of  the  year  1914  a  French 
expedition,  under  the  direction  of  H.  de  GenouiDac,  excavated  at 
Ukhaimir,  the  site  of  ancient  Kish.  They  have  discovered  the  great 
Ziggurat  of  the  temple  of  Zamama,  the  god  of  Kish,  and  are  said 
to  have  made  other  important  finds,  but  the  details  are  not  yet 
published. 

4.  The  Decipherment  of  the  Inscriptions. — The  task  of  learning 
to  read  the  inscriptions  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  was  much  more 
difficult  than  the  decipherment  of  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphs,  for 
no  such  simple  key  as  the  Rosetta  Stone  was  at  hand.  The  key 
that  finally  unlocked  the  mystery  came  not  from  Babylonia,  but 
from  Persepolis  in  Persia.  When  Cyrus  the  Great  conquered 
Babylon  in  538  b.  c.  the  Persians  had  not  developed  a  system  of 
writing.  They  accordingly  adapted  to  their  language  the  char¬ 
acters  of  the  Babylonian  script.  The  Babylonian  script  had  begun, 
like  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphs,  as  a  system  of  picture-writing,  in 
which  each  picture  represented  an  idea.  These  had  gone  through 
a  long  development,  in  which  the  original  picture-forms  had  been 
supplanted  by  conventional  characters  derived  therefrom.  In 
making  these  characters  on  clay,  one  end  of  a  line  was  always 
wider  than  the  other,  hence  the  characters  are  called  “wedge- 
shaped”  or  “cuneiform.”  In  the  course  of  the  ages  the  Babylonians 
had  come  to  use  the  characters  to  express  both  syllables  and  whole 
words,  and  a  scribe  might  mingle  these  uses  of  a  sign  at  will  in 
writing  a  composition.  Many  of  the  signs  might  also  express 
any  one  of  several  syllables.  In  adapting  this  complicated  system, 
the  Persians  had  the  wisdom  to  simplify  it.  They  selected  or 
constructed  a  character  for  each  sound,  making  a  real  alphabet. 
Three  of  the  Persian  kings,  Darius  (521-485),  Xerxes  (486M:65), 
and  Artaxerxes  II  (405-359),  wrote  their  inscriptions  in  three 
languages, — Babylonian,  Elamite,  and  Persian, — employing  wedge- 
shaped  scripts  for  all  of  them. 

By  Niebuhr. — In  the  ruins  of  the  great  palace  of  the  Persian 
kings  at  Persepolis  many  of  these  inscriptions  in  three  languages 
were  preserved.  These  ruins  attracted  the  notice  of  many  travelers 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


49 


from  the  time  that  Odoric,  a  monk,  saw  them  in  1320  A.  d.,  and 
a  number  of  travelers  had  made  copies  of  some  of  them  and  brought 
them  back  to  Europe.  The  inscriptions  were  a  great  puzzle. 
After  Alexander  the  Great  (331-323  b.  c.)  Persia  had  been  sub¬ 
ject  to  foreign  powers  until  220  a.  d.,  when  the  Sassanian  dynasty 
(220-641  a.  d.)  made  Persia  again  an  independent  kingdom.  In 
the  revival  of  Persian  letters  that  occurred  in  Sassanian  times,  a 
form  of  the  Phoenician  alphabet  was  used,  because  the  old  charac¬ 
ters  of  these  inscriptions  had  been  forgotten.  In  1765  Carsten 
Niebuhr,  a  Dane,  visited  Persepolis  and  made  accurate  copies  of  a 
large  number  of  these  inscriptions.  The  first  correct  reading  of  any 
of  these  inscriptions  was  done  from  Niebuhr’s  copies;  (see  Fig.  20). 

By  Grotefend,  de  Sacy,  and  Rawlinson. — A  number  of  scholars 
had  studied  Niebuhr’s  copies,  but  the  first  to  read  any  of  them 
correctly  was  Georg  Friedrich  Grotefend,  a  German  scholar.  He 
began  with  the  assumption  that  the  three  groups  of  lines  in  the 
inscriptions  contained  respectively  three  languages,  and  that  the 
first  of  these  was  the  Persian  of  Cyrus  and  his  successors.  In 
the  years  1787-1791  Sylvestre  de  Sacy,  a  French  Oriental  scholar, 
had  studied  and  in  part  expounded  some  Sassanian  alphabetic 
inscriptions  from  Persia,  which  had  also  long  attracted  the  notice 
of  scholars.  These  Sassanian  inscriptions  were  many  of  them  cast 
in  the  same  mould.  They  ran  thus: 

“X  the  great  king,  king  of  kings,  the  king  of  Iran  and  Aniran,  son  of  Y, 
the  great  king,”  etc. 

Grotefend  had  these  inscriptions  before  him,  and  compared  this 
formula  with  the  inscriptions  from  Persepolis.  He  noted  that  as 
often  as  the  formula  contained  the  word  “king”  the  inscriptions 
from  Persepolis  contained  the  same  group  of  signs,  and  that  as  often 
as  it  had  “of  kings,”  they  reproduced  the  group  with  a  different 
ending.  He  therefore  rightly  concluded  that  these  signs  were  the 
old  Persian  spelling  of  the  Persian  word  for  “king”  with  its  genitive 
plural.  Taking  from  the  Sassanian  inscriptions  the  word  for  king, 
he  proceeded  to  parcel  out  its  sounds  among  the  characters  with 
which  the  word  was  spelled  in  the  Persepolis  inscriptions.  He  also 
found  a  king,  who  was  the  son  of  a  man  not  a  king.  This,  he 
rightly  held,  could  be  none  other  than  Darius,  the  son  of  Hystaspes. 
Apportioning  the  proper  groups  of  signs  among  the  sounds  of  these 
names,  he  obtained  still  further  alphabetical  values.  Thus  a 


50 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


beginning  was  made.  Grotefend  was,  however,  unable  to  carry 
the  work  far,  and  in  the  years  that  followed  Eugene  Burnouf, 
Christian  Lassen,  Isidore  Lowenstern,  Henry  C.  Rawlinson,  and 
Edward  Hincks  all  made  contributions  to  the  subject.  The  honor 
of  having  first  correctly  read  and  interpreted  a  long  inscription  be¬ 
longs  to  Rawlinson.  Rawlinson  was  a  young  army  officer,  who  as 
a  boy  had  been  in  India,  where  he  learned  Persian  and  several  of 
the  dialects  of  India.  In  1833  he  was  sent  to  Persia  with  other 
British  officers  to  assist  in  the  reorganization  of  the  Persian  army. 
Here  his  attention  was  attracted  by  the  great  Persian  inscriptions 
in  the  mountains  near  Hamadan,  the  ancient  Ecbatana,  and  in  the 
intervals  of  military  duties  he  copied  and  studied  several  of  them. 
He  was,  in  the  early  stages  of  his  wTork,  quite  unaware  of  the  work 
done  by  Grotefend  and  others,  but  hit  independently  upon  the 
method  followed  by  Grotefend.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  in¬ 
scriptions  on  which  Rawlinson  worked  were  longer  than  those  ac¬ 
cessible  to  Grotefend,  and  also  contained  more  proper  names, 
Rawlinson  attained  greater  success  than  any  of  his  predecessors. 
He  did  not  publish  his  results,  however,  until  he  had  become  thor¬ 
oughly  familiar  with  all  that  others  had  done.  It  was  not  until 
1846  that  he  published  a  full  interpretation  of  the  Persian  column 
of  the  great  Behistun1  inscription  of  Darius  I. 

Babylonian  Column. — This  successful  achievement  related,  how¬ 
ever,  only  to  the  Persian  column.  The  mysteries  of  the  Babylonian 
column  had  not  yet  been  solved.  This  task,  as  will  be  evident 
from  the  complicated  nature  of  the  writing  mentioned  above,  was 
a  much  more  difficult  one.  The  decipherment  of  the  Persian  had, 
however,  taught  the  sound  of  many  cuneiform  signs.  These  sounds 
wTere  carried  over  to  the  Babylonian  column  as  a  nucleus  of  informa¬ 
tion.  Excavations  were  all  the  time  also  bringing  new  material  to 
light,  and  a  comparison  of  inscriptions,  in  many  of  which  the 
same  words  were  written  in  different  ways,  sometimes  ideographi- 
cally  and  sometimes  syllabically,  helped  on  the  general  stock  of 
knowledge.  Rawlinson,  Hincks,  Jules  Oppert,  and  Fox  Talbot  were 
the  men  who  at  this  stage  of  the  work  were  still  wrestling  with  the 
problem.  Again  Rawlinson  was  the  man  to  achieve  the  first  dis¬ 
tinguished  success.  In  1851  he  published  one  hundred  and  twelve 
lines  of  the  Babylonian  portion  of  the  Behistun  inscription  with 
transliteration  and  translation,  and  accompanied  the  whole  with 

1  So  called  from  the  name  of  the  mountain  on  which  it  is  written. 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


51 


copious  notes  in  which  the  principles  of  the  grammar  were  set  forth. 
A  list  of  the  signs  and  their  values  was  also  added.  From  that 
day  to  this  the  study  has  steadily  gone  forward. 

Babylonian-Semitic. — The  work  of  Rawlinson  and  his  co-laborers 
proved  that  the  language  of  the  ancient  Babylonians  was  a  Sem¬ 
itic  language,  closely  akin  to  Hebrew,  Aramaic,  Arabic,  and 
Ethiopic.  Within  the  next  few  years  after  he  had  found  the  key 
to  the  cuneiform  writing,  Rawlinson  announced  that  the  inscrip¬ 
tions  from  Babylonia  contained  material  in  another  and  very  differ¬ 
ent  language.  The  researches  of  later  years  have  fully  confirmed 
this,  and  scholars  call  this  language  Sumerian.  The  people  who 
spoke  it  were  the  inventors  of  many  elements  in  the  civilization 
of  early  Babylonia,  and  for  many  centuries  at  the  dawn  of  history 
divided  the  country  with  the  Semites. 

5.  Chronology. — The  materials  for  constructing  the  chronology 
of  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  history  are  as  follows: 

(1)  Claudius  Ptolemy,  an  Egyptian  astronomer  who  flourished 
in  the  second  century  a.  d.,  made  a  list  of  the  kings  of  Egypt, 
Persia,  and  Babylonia  back  to  the  accession  of  the  Babylonian 
king,  Nabonassar,  in  747  b.  c.  This  list  was  compiled  as  an  as¬ 
tronomical  aid,  and  is  very  accurate. 

(2)  The  Assyrian  kings  kept  lists  of  years  and  of  principal 
events,  to  which  scholars  have  given  the  name  “Eponym  Lists,” 
because  each  year  was  named  after  the  king  or  some  officer.  Tab¬ 
lets  containing  these  lists  have  been  recovered  on  which  we  can 
still  read  the  chronology  from  893  to  666  b.  c.  This  list  accordingly 
overlaps  the  list  or  “canon”  of  Ptolemy.  Some  of  these  Assyrian 
kings  were  also  kings  of  Babylon,  and  where  the  lists  overlap  they 
agree.  One  of  these  lists  mentions  an  eclipse  which  occurred  at 
Nineveh  in  the  month  Sivan  (May-June),  763  b.  c.  This  eclipse 
has  been  calculated  and  verified  by  modern  astronomers,  so  that 
the  chronology  covered  by  these  lists  rests  upon  a  secure  scientific 
basis. 

(3)  For  dates  in  Assyrian  history  anterior  to  893  b.  c.  we  have 
to  depend  upon  incidental  notices  in  the  inscriptions.  Thus  Sen¬ 
nacherib,  whose  date  is  fixed  by  the  Eponym  Lists  as  705-681  b.  c., 
relates  that  during  his  reign  he  recovered  from  Babylon  the  images 
of  two  gods  that  had  been  taken  as  booty  by  Marduknadinakhi, 
King  of  Babylon,  from  Tiglath-pileser,  King  of  Assyria,  418  years 
before  Sennacherib  brought  them  back.  It  follows  from  this  that 


UNIVERSITY  OF 
ILLINOIS  LIBRARY 


52 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Tiglath-pileser  I  of  Assyria  and  Marduknadinakhi  of  Babylon 
were  ruling  from  about  1120  to  1100  b.  c. 

We  also  have  a  long  inscription  from  the  Tiglath-pileser  men¬ 
tioned  here,  who  relates  that  in  his  reign  he  restored  a  temple, 
which  had  been  built  by  Shamshi-Adad,  ruler  of  Assyria,  son  of 
Ishmi-Dagan,  ruler  of  Assyria,  641  years  before  the  time  of  Ashur- 
dan,  King  of  Assyria.  Ashur-dan  had,  he  tells  us,  pulled  the  temple 
down  and  it  had  lain  in  ruins  60  years  until  he  (Tiglath-pileser) 
rebuilt  it.  By  adding  these  numbers  we  reach  1819  or  1820  b.  c. 
as  the  accession  of  Shamshi-Adad. 

Again  Sennacherib  found  at  Babylon  a  seal  which  bore  the 
following  inscription: 

“  Tukulti-Ninib,  king  of  the  world,  son  of  Shalmaneser,  King  of  Assyria, 
conqueror  of  the  land  of  Chaldsea.  Whoever  changes  the  writing  of  my 
name,  may  Ashur  and  Adad  destroy  his  name.  This  seal  was  presented  by 
the  land  of  Assyria  to  the  land  of  Akkad  ”  (Babylonia). 

To  this  Sennacherib  added  the  following  inscription: 

“  I,  Sennacherib,  after  600  years  conquered  Babylon,  and  from  its  treasures 
brought  it  out  and  took  it.” 

We  learn  from  this  that  Tukulti-Ninib  was  ruling  in  Assyria 
from  about  1300  to  1290  b.  c. 

Andrae  has  recently  (1914)  published  an  inscription  of  Tukulti- 
Ninib  in  which  he  states  that  he  repaired  a  temple  which  had 
been  built  by  his  ancestor,  Ilu-shumma,  King  of  Assyria,  720 
years  before.  Ilu-shumma  was,  accordingly,  ruling  in  Assyria 
about  2020  to  2010  b.  c. 

(4)  Among  the  tablets  in  the  British  Museum  are  two  so-called 
“dynastic  tablets”  which  contain  lists  of  the  kings  of  Babylon 
from  the  time  that  Babylon  became  the  leading  city  of  the  country 
to  its  capture  by  the  Persians.  The  kings  are  divided  into  eight 
dynasties,  the  length  of  the  reign  of  each  king  was  originally  given, 
and  at  the  end  of  each  dynasty  a  statement  was  given  of  the 
number  of  kings  in  that  dynasty  and  the  total  length  of  their  reigns. 
These  tablets  are  unfortunately  much  broken,  so  that  they  afford 
us  little  help  after  the  year  1000  b.  c.  We  learn  from  them,  how¬ 
ever,  that  Marduknadinakhi,  the  king  mentioned  by  Sennacherib 
as  ruling  about  1100  b.  c.,  belonged  to  the  fourth  Babylonian  dy¬ 
nasty,  and,  if  we  add  together  the  years  given  for  the  previous 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


53 


dynasties,  we  are  taken  back  nearly  to  the  year  2400  B.  c.  for  the 
accession  of  the  first  dynasty  of  Babylon.  Evidence  has,  however, 
come  to  light  in  recent  years  which  proves  that  the  first  and  second 
of  these  dynasties  overlapped,  one  ruling  in  the  north  while  the 
other  ruled  in  the  south.  A  reliable  chronology  cannot,  therefore, 
be  obtained  by  adding  these  numbers  together.  In  order  to  cor¬ 
rect  them  recourse  must  be  had  to  other  evidence. 

(5)  Franz  Xaver  Kugler,  who  is  both  an  astronomer  and  an 
Assyriologist,  has  recently  shown  that  an  astronomical  tablet 
which  was  published  as  long  ago  as  1870,  and  which  notes  for  a 
series  of  years  when  Venus  was  the  evening  and  when  the  morning 
star,  contains  a  date  formula  which  fixes  its  compilation  in  the  reign 
of  Ammi-zadugga,  the  tenth  of  the  eleven  kings  of  the  first  dynasty 
of  Babylon.  From  mathematical  calculations  of  the  position  of 
the  planet  Venus,  Kugler  is  accordingly  able  to  fix  the  accession 
year  of  Ammi-zadugga  as  either  2040,  1976,  or  1857  b.  c.  As  the 
first  of  these  dates  is  too  early,  and  the  third  is,  in  the  judgment 
of  most  scholars,  too  late,  it  follows  that  his  accession  year  was  in 
1976.  From  the  lengths  of  the  reigns  of  the  various  kings  of  this 
dynasty  as  given  in  the  dynastic  tablets,  it  follows  that  the  first 
dynasty  of  Babylon  began  its  rule  in  2206  b.  c. 

(6)  Under  Adad-nirari  III,  King  of  Assyria  (810-782  b.  c.), 
a  so-called  synchronistic  history  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia  was 
compiled.  It  covered  about  600  years,  beginning  with  a  treaty 
of  peace  between  Karaindash,  King  of  Babylon,  and  Ashur-rim- 
nishishu,  King  of  Assyria.  It  aids  in  filling  gaps  left  by  breaks  in 
other  lists. 

(7)  A  chronological  tablet  in  the  Babylonian  collection  of  Yale 
University  contains  a  list  of  the  kings  of  Larsa.  This  city  was 
conquered  by  Hammurapi,  of  the  first  dynasty  of  Babylon,  in  the 
31st  year  of  his  reign.  The  tablet,  therefore,  counts  Hammurapi 
one  of  the  kings  of  Larsa,  ascribing  to  him  twelve  years  of  rule. 
The  tablet  was  apparently  compiled  in  the  twelfth  year  of  Samsu- 
iluna,  Hammurapi’s  successor,  to  whom  twelve  years  are  also 
ascribed.  It  gives  the  total  length  of  the  dynasty  of  Larsa  as  289 
years.  That  dynasty,  accordingly,  began  its  rule  in  2358  B.  C. 

(8)  In  a  chronological  list  of  the  kings  of  Ur  and  Nisin  on  a  tab¬ 
let  in  the  University  Museum,  Philadelphia,1  it  is  stated  that  the 

1  First  published  by  Hilprecht,  Babylonian  Expedition  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  VoL 
XX,  No.  47;  cf.  p.  46. 


54 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


kings  of  Ur  ruled  117  years  and  the  kings  of  Nisin  225  years  and  6 
months.  A  tablet  has  now  been  discovered  which  shows  that  the 
dynasty  of  Nisin  was  not  overthrown  until  2117  or  2116  b.  c.  Its 
225  years,  therefore,  were  all  parallel  to  the  time  of  the  dynasty  of 
Larsa.  As  the  dynasty  of  Nisin  rose  upon  the  ruins  of  the  king¬ 
dom  of  Ur,  the  dates  of  the  kingdom  of  Ur  are,  therefore,  fixed  as 
2458-2341  b.  c. 

(9)  A  chronological  tablet  published  by  Scheil  in  the  Comptes 
rendus  of  the  French  Academy  for  1911  gives  a  list  of  five  early 
dynasties  of  Babylonia:  a  dynasty  of  Opis,  one  of  Kish,  one  of 
Agade,  and  two  of  Erech. 

(10)  A  group  of  chronological  tablets  in  the  University  Museum 
in  Philadelphia,1  which  assign  several  dynasties  to  each  of  several 
well-known  Babylonian  cities,  ascribe  to  their  kings  incredibly 
long  reigns.  One  of  these  is  translated  in  Part  II,  Chapter  IV. 

(11)  Fragments  of  a  work  of  Berossos,  a  Babylonian  priest  who 
lived  after  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great,  contain  a  list 
of  Babylonian  kings.  He  based  his  work  on  such  tablets  as  those 
in  the  University  Museum.  His  statements  abound  accordingly 
in  incredible  numbers. 

From  these  tablets  it  appears  that  the  dynasty  of  Ur  was  pre¬ 
ceded  by  the  dynasty  of  Gutium,  which  ruled  for  159  years;  the 
dynasty  of  Gutium  was  preceded  by  a  dynasty  of  Erech  for  26 
years;  that,  by  a  dynasty  of  Agade  for  197  years;  that,  by  one  king 
of  Erech,  Lugalzaggisi,  who  ruled  25  years;  he  was  apparently 
preceded  by  a  dynasty  of  Kish  for  106  years;  that,  by  a  dynasty  of 
Opis  for  99  years.  These  figures  take  us  back  to  3070  b.  c.,  though 
the  arrangement  for  the  time  before  Lugalzaggisi  is  in  part  con¬ 
jectural.  Four  dynasties  of  what  are  known  to  have  been  his¬ 
torical  kings  existed  before  this  time,  so  that  we  are  led  to  place  the 
beginning  of  the  historical  period  in  Babylonia  about  3200  b.  c.  or 
earlier. 

(12)  Nabuna’id,  King  of  Babylon,  555-538  b.  c.,  states  that  he 
found,  in  repairing  the  temple  at  Sippar  (Agade),  the  temple-plat¬ 
form  of  Naram-Sin,  son  of  Sargon,  which  no  one  had  seen  for 
3,200  years.  As  he  made  this  statement  about  550  b.  c.,  it  was 
long  supposed  that  this  fixed  the  date  of  Naram-Sin  as  3750  b.  c., 
and  that  of  his  father,  Sargon,  at  about  3800  b.  c.  These  dates 

1  See  Poebel,  Historical  and  Grammatical  Texts  Philadelphia,  1914,  Nos.  2-5,  and  Historical 
Texts,  Philadelphia,  1914,  pp.  73-140. 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


55 


will  be  found  in  many  of  the  older  books,  but  they  are  incredible. 
They  would,  if  true,  leave  long  gaps  in  the  history  that  we  have 
no  information  to  fill.  Since  it  has  been  clearly  proved  that  the 
dynasties  overlapped,  it  seems  that  Nabuna’id  reached  his  date 
by  adding  together  the  totals  of  dynasties,  some  of  which  were 
contemporary.  It  now  seems  probable  that  he  placed  Naram-Sin 
about  1,100  years  too  early. 

The  sources  here  enumerated  afford  us  a  tolerably  accurate 
chronology  back  to  about  2450  b.  c.  All  dates  earlier  than  this 
have  to  be  estimated  by  combining  statements  of  early  dynastic 
tablets  with  archaeological  and  paleographic  considerations. 

6.  Outline  of  the  History. — The  history  of  Babylonia  and  As¬ 
syria  falls  into  eight  different  periods.  Our  information  is  not  yet 
sufficiently  complete  to  enable  us  to  write  the  history  of  any  one 
of  them,  but  we  can  discern  in  outline  a  most  fascinating  course  of 
events. 

(1)  The  Prehistoric  Period ,  or  the  period  before  the  rise  of  writ¬ 
ten  history,  during  which  we  can  ascertain  from  various  inferences 
the  general  course  of  events.  This  period  must  have  begun  about 
4500  or  5000  b.  c.  and  lasted  down  to  about  3200  b.  c.  The  Semites 
from  Arabia1  were  the  first  to  pour  into  the  fertile  valley  of  Mesopo¬ 
tamia.  They  came  up  from  the  south,  establishing  the  city  of 
Eridu  on  the  shore  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  then  the  cities  of  Ur,  Erech, 
Lagash,  Nippur,  etc.  They  carried  wTith  them  the  culture  of  the 
palm-tree,  and  learned  to  raise  grain  in  the  alluvial  soil  of  the  rivers, 
but  they  had  no  system  of  writing.  The  early  cities  of  Babylonia 
were  the  fortified  residences  of  different  tribes,  which  wrere  fre¬ 
quently  at  war  with  one  another.  One  city  would  subjugate  its 
neighbors  for  a  time  and  establish  a  small  empire.  As  long  as  it 
continued  to  rule,  a  certain  degree  of  homage  was  paid  to  its  god 
by  all  the  cities  over  which  it  ruled.  In  prehistoric  times  there 
were  kingdoms  of  this  sort  ruled  at  one  time  by  Eridu,  at  another 
by  Erech,  and  at  another  by  Nippur,  for  Ea,  the  god  of  Eridu,  Anu, 
the  god  of  Erech,  and  Enlil  or  Bel,  god  of  Nippur,  were  ever  after 
worshiped  as  the  supreme  gods  of  Babylonia. 

Sumerians. — At  some  time  before  the  dawn  of  history  a  people 
whom  we  call  Sumerians  moved  into  Babylonia  from  the  East. 

1  It  is  the  prevailing  view  of  scholars  that  Arabia  was  the  cradle-land  of  the  Semites.  The 
reasons  for  this  view  as  well  as  a  resume  of  other  views  will  be  found  in  G.  A.  Barton’s  Sketch  of 
Semitic  Origins ,  Social  and,  Religious ,  New  York,  1902,  Chapter  I. 


56 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


These  people  spoke  a  language  which  possesses  some  features 
in  common  with  Finnish  and  Turkish.  They  were  neither  Aryans 
nor  Semites.  The  Semites  wore  thick  hair  and  long  beards;  the 
Sumerians  shaved  both  their  heads  and  faces.  These  Sumerians 
overran  southern  Babylonia  as  far  north  as  Nippur  and  in  this 
region  became  the  ruling  race.  They  grafted  the  worship  of  their 
own  gods  upon  the  worship  of  the  deities  of  the  cities  which  they 
conquered,  but  the  Semitic  elements  of  these  local  deities  persisted 
even  in  Sumerian  thought.  It  thus  came  about  that  the  bald  and 
beardless  Sumerians  picture  their  gods  with  hair  and  beards. 
After  settling  in  Babylonia,  the  Sumerians  developed  a  system  of 
writing.  It  was  at  first  hieroglyphic,  like  the  Egyptian  system. 
Afterward  the  Semites,  who  still  retained  the  supremacy  in  the 
cities  of  Kish  and  Agade  in  the  north,  and  who  had  probably  been 
reinforced  there  by  fresh  migrations  from  Arabia,  adapted  this  sys¬ 
tem  of  writing  to  their  own  language.  As  clay  was  the  usual  writ¬ 
ing  material  and  it  was  difficult  to  make  good  pictures  on  it,  the 
pictographic  form  of  the  writing  was  soon  lost.  The  pictures  de¬ 
generated  into  those  conventional  symbols  which  are  today  known 
as  the  “cuneiform”  characters. 

(2)  The  Pre-Babylonian  Period  of  the  history  includes  the  period 
from  about  3200  b.  c.  down  to  the  rise  of  the  city  of  Babylon, 
about  2100  b.  c.  This  period,  like  the  preceding,  was  a  time  of 
successive  city  kingdoms.  One  city  would  establish  an  empire 
for  a  while,  then  another,  having  become  more  powerful,  would 
take  the  leadership.  When  first  our  written  records  enable  us  to 
trace  the  course  of  events,  Lagash  in  the  south  and  Kish  in  the 
north  were  the  rival  cities.  Lagash  was  ruled  by  a  king,  Enkhegal. 
A  little  later  Meselim,  King  of  Kish,  conquered  all  of  southern 
Babylonia,  including  Lagash.  After  Meselim  had  passed  away, 
Ur-Nina  founded  a  new  dynasty  at  Lagash  and  gained  his  inde¬ 
pendence.  Ur-Nina’s  grandson,  Eannatum,  raised  the  power  of 
Lagash  to  its  greatest  height,  conquering  all  the  cities  of  Baby¬ 
lonia,  even  Kish.  The  Elamites  were  always  invading  the  fertile 
plains  of  Babylonia,  so  Eannatum  ascended  the  eastern  mountains 
and  subjugated  Elam. 

“Stele  of  the  Vultures.” — He  celebrated  his  victories  by  the  erec¬ 
tion  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  monuments  which  the  ancient 
world  produced,  the  so-called  “stele  of  the  vultures.”  From  the 
pictures  on  the  monument  we  learn  that  the  soldiers  of  Lagash, 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


57 


about  2950  b.  c.,  waged  their  battles  in  a  solid  phalanx  protected 
by  shields.  The  Greeks  were  formerly  supposed  to  have  invented 
this  form  of  attack,  but  were  anticipated  by  2,500  years;  (see  Fig.  19). 

Although  this  dynasty  furnished  several  other  rulers,  the  leader¬ 
ship  of  all  Babylonia  was  lost  after  the  death  of  Eannatum.  It 
passed  first  to  Opis  and  then  again  to  Kish.  Lagash  continued  to 
flourish,  however,  during  200  years,  while  these  cities  were  the  over- 
lords  of  its  rulers.  Its  wars  had  made  it  rich,  and  all  the  arts 
flourished  there.  Our  best  specimens  of  terra-cotta  and  stone 
work  come  from  this  period  of  this  city.  Under  Entemena,  the 
successor  of  Eannatum,  a  silver  vase  of  exquisite  workmanship 
and  ornamentation  was  made;  (see  Fig.  21).  After  a  century  or 
more  of  wealth  and  luxury,  during  which  priests  and  officials  be¬ 
came  corrupt,  a  new  king,  Urkagina,  seized  the  throne  and  en¬ 
deavored  to  reform  the  administration.  Naturally,  his  reforms 
were  unpopular  with  the  priesthood  and  the  army,  and,  though 
popular  with  the  people,  he  unintentionally  weakened  the  defensive 
power  of  his  country. 

At  this  juncture  a  new  ruler  named  Lugalzaggisi  arose  in  the 
city  of  Umma,  who  ultimately  overthrew  Lagash  and  became 
king  of  all  Babylonia.  He  made  Erech  his  capital.  This  was  about 
2800  b.  c.  Lugalzaggisi  claims  to  have  overrun  the  country  from 
the  Persian  Gulf  to  the  Mediterranean.  If  so,  and  there  is  no  good 
reason  to  doubt  his  claim,  Babylonia  and  the  Palestinian  coast- 
lands  were  under  him  brought  together  for  the  first  time. 

After  Lugalzaggisi  the  city  of  Agade  came  to  the  fore.  Its 
great  King  Sargon  about  2775  b.  c.  founded  a  dynasty  which 
ruled  for  nearly  two  hundred  years.  The  kings  of  this  line  were 
Semitic  and  resided  sometimes  at  Agade  and  sometimes  at  Kish. 
Sargon  conquered  Syria  and  a  later  chronicle  says  that  he  crossed 
the  western  sea.  As  a  seal  of  this  dynasty  was  found  in 
Cyprus,  it  is  possibly  true.  Naram-Sin,  one  of  the  most  famous 
kings  of  this  line,  conquered  the  country  of  Magan,  which  some 
believe  to  be  the  peninsula  of  Sinai,  but  which  others  hold  was 
situated  in  eastern  Arabia. 

About  the  time  of  this  dynasty,  or  a  little  before,  King  Lugal- 
daudu  flourished  at  Adab,  the  modern  Bismya,  where  Dr.  Banks 
found  his  statue.  In  this  same  general  period  a  king  named  Anu- 
banini  ruled  in  a  city  to  the  northward,  called  Lulubi. 

Perhaps  it  was  under  the  later  kings  of  this  dynasty  of  Agade,  or 


58 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


under  a  dynasty  of  Erech  which  held  sway  for  a  brief  period  after 
them,  that  Gudea  flourished  at  Lagash.  This  ruler  does  not  claim 
to  be  a  king,  but  his  city  enjoyed  great  prosperity  under  him,  and 
he  rebuilt  it  in  fine  style.  He  seems  to  have  been  on  peaceful  terms 
with  much  of  the  world,  and  brought  for  his  structures  stone  from 
Magan,  cedar  wood  from  Amanus  on  the  Mediterranean  coast,  and 
copper  from  Lebanon.  After  this  time  the  land  was  overrun  by 
hordes  from  Gutium,  a  region  to  the  northeast  beyond  the  Tigris. 
They  established  a  dynasty  which  lasted  for  125  (or  159)  years. 

In  2458  b.  c.  a  dynasty  arose  in  the  city  of  Ur,  situated  far  to  the 
south.  These  kings  were  Sumerians  and  under  them  a  great  Sumer¬ 
ian  revival  occurred.  By  this  time  northern  Babylonia  was  called 
Akkad,  from  the  city  of  Agade,  and  southern  Babylonia  was  called 
Sumir,  from  a  corruption  of  the  name  of  one  of  the  quarters  of 
Lagash.  These  kings  combined  with  the  title  “king  of  Ur”  the 
title  “king  of  Sumir  and  Akkad.”  Sumir  is  the  Biblical  “Shinar” 
(Gen.  10  :  10;  11  :  2,  etc.). 

Dungi,  the  second  king  of  this  dynasty  of  Ur,  reigned  58  years 
and  established  a  wide  empire,  which  included  Elam  and  the  city 
of  Susa.  He  established  a  system  of  government  posts  to  aid  the 
royal  officers  of  army  and  state  in  the  performance  of  their  duties. 

Upon  the  fall  of  the  dynasty  of  Ur,  the  dominion  of  Babylonia 
was  divided  between  two  cities,  Nisin  and  Larsa,  each  of  which 
furnished  a  dynasty  which  flourished  for  more  than  two  and  a  quar¬ 
ter  centuries.  Naturally,  these  kings  were  continually  struggling 
with  each  other  for  the  supremacy,  and  sometimes  one  city  was 
the  more  powerful,  sometimes  the  other.  The  Elamites,  who 
during  the  whole  period  had  occasionally  swooped  down  into  the 
Mesopotamian  Valley,  overran  Larsa  and  furnished  the  last  two 
kings  of  its  dynasty, — Arad-Sin  and  Rim-Sin.  These  kings  have 
each  been  thought  by  different  scholars  to  be  the  Arioch  of  Gen. 
14  :  1.  (See  Part  II,  Chapter  IX.) 

About  2210  b.  c.  a  dynasty  of  rulers  was  founded  in  the  city 
of  Babylon  that  was  destined  to  bring  a  new  era  into  the  history 
of  the  country.  After  a  struggle  of  more  than  a  century  Hammu- 
rapi,  the  sixth  king  of  this  line,  broke  the  power  of  Larsa  and  made 
Babylon  the  leading  city  of  the  country.  Nisin  had  previously 
fallen.  With  the  rise  of  Babylon  another  period  of  the  life  of  the 
country  was  ended. 

The  above  sketch  calls  attention  to  a  few  only  of  the  more  prom- 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


59 


inent  features  and  cities  of  Babylonia.  There  were  many  others 
which  participated  in  her  life  during  the  millennium  of  the  pre- 
Babylonian  period.  The  recovery  of  more  inscriptions  will  no 
doubt  make  this  statement  more  true  even  than  wre  now  dream. 
Each  of  these  contributed  its  mite  to  the  progress  of  civilization  in 
this  melting-pot  of  races  in  this  far-off  time. 

(3)  The  Early  Babylonian  Period  began  with  the  reign  of  Ham- 
murapi  and  continued  till  about  1050  b.  c.  It  includes  the  rule 
of  the  first  four  dynasties  of  Babylon.  The  period  began  glo¬ 
riously  under  Hammurapi,  who  conquered  all  of  Babylonia,  and 
extended  his  sway  also  to  the  Mediterranean.-  He  was  as  great  as 
an  administrator  as  he  was  as  a  conqueror;  he  codified  the  laws  of 
Babylonia  and  inscribed  them  on  a  stone  pillar,  which  was  set  up 
in  the  temple  of  Marduk  in  Babylon.  These  laws  have  been  re¬ 
covered,  and  are  one  of  the  most  valuable  archaeological  discoveries 
of  modern  times.  (See  Part  II,  Chapter  XIII.) 

Soon  after  the  death  of  Hammurapi,  a  revolt  occurred  under  one 
Ilumailu,  who  established  in  the  region  near  the  Persian  Gulf  a 
dynasty  known  as  the  “dynasty  of  the  sea  lands,”  which  was 
afterward  called  the  second  dynasty  of  Babylon.  Down  to  1924 
b.  c.  the  two  dynasties  divided  the  country  between  them.  In 
that  year  Babylonia  was  invaded  by  the  Hittites,  who  came  from 
the  northwest,  and  the  first  dynasty  of  Babylon  was  overthrown. 
The  Hittites  appear  to  have  ruled  the  country  for  a  short  time, 
when  they  were  driven  out  by  the  “dynasty  of  the  sea  lands,”  which, 
so  far  as  we  know,  controlled  the  country  for  the  next  hundred  and 
fifty  years. 

Kas sites. — About  1750  b.  c.,  or  shortly  before,  Babylonia  was 
once  more  invaded  by  a  race  of  barbarians  from  the  east  of  the 
Tigris,  called  Kassites  or  Cossaeans.  They  captured  Babylon  and 
founded  the  third  dynasty  of  Babylon,  which  ruled  for  576  years. 
The  kings  of  this  dynasty  gradually  absorbed  Babylonian  culture. 
Soon  after  1700  b.  c.  they  expelled  the  kings  of  the  sea  lands  from 
the  south  and  ruled  the  whole  country. 

Assyria,  which  under  the  first  dynasty  had  been  a  Babylonian 
colony,  gained  her  independence  before  1400  b.  c.,  so  that  after 
that  the  independent  histories  of  the  two  lands  run  on  parallel 
lines.  During  the  long  period  of  Kassite  rule,  Babylon  experienced 
many  vicissitudes.  Assyria  was  at  times  friendly  and  at  times 
hostile.  In  the  reign  of  Kurigalzu,  Elam  was  successfully  invaded 


60 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


and  spoil  formerly  taken  by  the  kings  of  Elam  was  brought  back  to 
Babylonia.  Kadashman-turgu  and  Burnaburiash,  kings  of  this 
dynasty,  carried  on  friendly  correspondence  with  Amenophis  III 
and  Amenophis  IV,  kings  of  Egypt,  1400-1350  b.  c. 

Pashe  Dynasty. — About  1175  b.  c.  the  Kassite  dynasty  was 
superseded  by  the  Pashe  dynasty,  which  ruled  the  country  for 
more  than  a  hundred  and  thirty  years.  The  greatest  king  of  this 
time  was  Nebuchadrezzar  I,  who  reigned  about  1150  b.  c.  He 
emulated  with  considerable  success  the  career  of  his  great  prede¬ 
cessor,  Hammurapi.  After  the  fall  of  the  fourth  dynasty,  the 
country  was  divided  and  fell  a  prey  to  the  Elamites,  who  overran 
it  about  1050.  For  the  following  450  years  Babylonia,  though 
often  independent,  was  of  little  political  importance. 

(4)  The  Early  Assyrian  Period. — Assyria’s  empire  grew  out  of 
the  domination  of  the  city  of  Ashur,  as  that  of  Rome  grew  out  of 
the  domination  of  the  city  of  Rome.  Ashur  and  Nineveh  had  been 
founded  by  colonists  from  Lagash  about  3000  or  2800  b.  c.  This 
is  shown  by  archaeological  remains  found  at  Ashur,  and  by  the  name 
of  Nineveh.  We  can  first  trace  the  names  of  Assyria’s  rulers 
shortly  before  the  year  2000  b.  c.  They  do  not  call  themselves 
kings,  and  were,  perhaps,  then  subject  to  Babylon. 

About  1430  b.  c.  we  learn  that  Assyria  had  become  an  inde¬ 
pendent  kingdom.  Her  king  at  that  time,  Ashur-rim-nishishu,  was 
a  contemporary  of  Karaindash,  King  of  Babylon.  Ashur-uballit 
about  1370-1343  was  a  contemporary  of  Burnaburiash,  King  of 
Babylon,  and  shared  in  the  correspondence  with  Egyptian  kings 
contained  in  the  El-Amarna  letters.  Shalmaneser  I  about  1300 
b.  c.  conquered  the  region  to  the  west  of  Assyria  extending  across 
the  Euphrates  in  the  direction  of  the  Mediterranean.  Ashur- 
nasirpal,  a  later  king  (884-860  b.  c.),  says  that  Shalmaneser  “made” 
the  city  of  Calah1  as  a  new  capital  for  his  country.  His  son, 
Tukulti-Ninib  I,  turned  his  arms  to  the  southward  and  conquered 
Babylon,  which  he  held  for  seven  years.  After  him  Assyria’s 
power  declined  for  a  time,  but  was  revived  by  Tiglath-pileser  I, 
who  carried  Assyria’s  conquests  again  across  the  Euphrates  to  the 
Mediterranean  Sea  and  northward  to  the  region  of  Lake  Van. 
After  the  reign  of  Tiglath-pileser  I,  Assyria’s  power  rapidly  declined 
again,  and  the  first  period  of  Assyria’s  history  was  closed.  Our 
sources  almost  fail  us  for  a  hundred  years  or  more. 

1  In  Gen.  10  :  11  it  is  by  implication  said  that  the  city  was  founded  by  Nimrod. 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


61 


(5)  The  Second  Assyrian  Period. — Assyria  slowly  emerged  from 
the  obscurity  into  which  she  had  fallen  after  the  death  of  Tig- 
lathpileser  I.  The  progress  went  forward  through  the  reigns  of 
eleven  different  kings.  Finally,  in  the  reign  of  Ashur-nasirpal 
II,  884-860  b.  c.,  a  period  of  foreign  conquest  was  once  more 
inaugurated.  This  monarch  again  carried  the  conquests  of  his 
country  northward  and  also  to  the  Mediterranean.  (See  Part  II, 
p.  360.)  Under  him  Assyria  became  the  best  fighting  machine  in 
the  ancient  world — a  machine  that  was  run  with  ruthless  cruelty 
over  all  conquered  peoples.  This  king  set  his  successors  the  ex¬ 
ample  of  flaying  and  impaling  numbers  of  conquered  peoples,  and 
of  boasting  of  such  deeds  in  his  chronicles.  Probably  such  deeds 
were  not  now  committed  for  the  first  time,  but  so  far  as  we  know 
they  had  not  been  so  gloated  over. 

Ashur-nasirpal’s  successor,  Shalmaneser  III,  868-824  b.  c.,  made, 
besides  campaigns  into  Armenia  and  elsewhere,  six  campaigns 
against  the  lands  of  Syria  and  Palestine.  On  his  first  campaign 
in  854  he  was  met  at  Qarqar  by  a  confederation  of  kings,  among 
whom  were  Ahab  of  Israel  and  Ben-Hadad  of  Damascus.  (See 
Part  II,  p.  360,  ff.)  On  his  fourth  campaign  in  842  b.  c.  Jehu,  who 
had  in  that  year  usurped  the  throne  of  Israel,  hastened  to  make  his 
peace  with  Shalmaneser  by  giving  him  a  heavy  tribute.  Thus 
Assyria  gained  a  right  to  claim  Israel  as  a  vassal  state.  (See  Part 
II,  p.  362,  f.) 

The  next  two  kings,  Shamshi-Adad  IV  and  Adad-nirari  IV, 
controlled  Assyria  until  783  b.  c.,  and  maintained  her  power.  The 
last-mentioned  king  made  three  expeditions  into  the  West,  and 
claims  to  have  received  tribute  not  only  from  Israel  but  from 
Philistia  and  Edom,  but  no  details  of  his  campaigns  have  survived. 

After  783  the  power  of  Assyria  declined  again,  and  the  decline 
lasted  until  745,  when  the  reigning  dynasty  was  overthrown,  and  an 
able  general,  whose  name  was  apparently  Pul,  gained  the  throne 
(cf.  2  Kings  15  :  19),  and  took  the  great  name  of  Tiglath-pileser. 
He  reigned  as  the  fourth  king  of  that  name.  Tiglath-pileser  IV 
was  great  both  as  a  warrior  and  as  a  statesman.  He  broke  for  the 
time  being  the  power  of  the  kingdom  of  Urartu  in  Armenia,  con¬ 
quered  parts  of  Media  on  the  east,  and  also  annexed  Babylon  to 
Assyria.  Babylon  during  this  later  Assyrian  period  had  usually 
been  permitted  to  retain  a  king  of  her  own,  though  the  kingdom  was 
of  little  political  importance  as  compared  with  Assyria.  Tiglath- 


62 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


pileser  made  his  power  dominant  in  Babylonia  at  the  beginning  of 
his  reign,  and  during  the  last  two  years  of  his  life  actually  reigned 
there  as  king.  The  Babylonian  scribes  did  not  recognize  his 
high-sounding  name  of  Tiglath-pileser,  but  still  called  him  Pul. 

In  the  first  year  of  his  reign  Tiglath-pileser  IV  inaugurated  a 
new  policy  with  reference  to  conquered  peoples.  This  was  the 
policy  of  transporting  to  a  distant  part  of  his  empire  the  wealthy 
and  influential  members  of  a  conquered  nation,  and  of  putting 
similar  exiles  from  other  lands  in  their  place.  Individuals  so  trans¬ 
ported  would  be  unable  longer  to  foment  rebellion  against  him.  It 
was  a  brutal  policy,  but  it  was  a  measure  designed  to  build  up  a 
permanent  empire. 

Tiglath-pileser  made  four  expeditions  to  the  west,  though  the 
first  two  touched  northern  Phoenicia  only.  In  739,  when  he  made 
his  appearance  in  Palestine,  Menahem,  King  of  Israel,  hastened  to 
pay  him  tribute  (2  Kings  15  :  19).  Four  years  later,  however, 
after  Pekah  had  usurped  the  throne  of  Israel,  that  king  formed  an 
alliance  with  Rezin  of  Damascus  for  the  purpose  of  throwing  off 
the  Assyrian  yoke,  and  tried  to  force  Ahaz  of  Judah  to  join  in  the 
enterprise.  (See  Isa.  7:1,  f.)  This,  Ahaz,  supported  by  the 
prophet  Isaiah,  refused  to  do.  In  733-732  Tiglath-pileser  came 
again  into  the  West,  overran  the  territory  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel, 
deported  the  chief  inhabitants  of  Galilee  to  distant  parts  of  his 
dominions  (2  Kings  15  :  29,  30),  and  replaced  Pekah,  who  had  been 
killed,  by  King  Hoshea,  who  ruled  over  a  greatly  diminished  terri¬ 
tory  and  upon  whom  a  heavy  Assyrian  tribute  was  imposed. 
Tiglath-pileser  then  turned  eastward  and  conquered  Damascus, 
which  his  predecessors  since  the  days  of  Shalmaneser  III  had  been 
vainly  trying  to  capture.  While  the  Assyrian  monarch  was  at 
Damascus,  King  Ahaz  of  Judah  went  thither  and  became  his 
vassal.  (See  2  Kings  16  :  10,  f.)  Thus  Judah  also  passed  under 
the  Assyrian  yoke.  (See  Part  II,  p.  366.) 

Tiglath-pileser  IV  was  succeeded  by  Shalmaneser  V,  727-722  b.  c., 
and  soon  after  the  death  of  Tiglath-pileser,  Hoshea  of  Israel  was 
persuaded  to  join  several  petty  rulers  of  Philistia  and  Egypt  in 
rebelling  against  Assyria.  In  725  an  Assyrian  army  overran 
Hoshea’s  territory,  and  laid  siege  to  Samaria.  The  military  po¬ 
sition  of  Samaria  and  its  strong  walls  made  it  almost  impregnable, 
and  the  siege  dragged  on  for  three  years  (2  Kings  17  :  5).  Before 
the  city  fell,  another  king  had  ascended  the  throne  of  Assyria. 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


63 


He  was  a  usurper,  a  general,  who  took  the  great  name  of  Sargon, 
and  who  ruled  from  722  to  705  b.  c.  Samaria  succumbed  in 
Sargon’s  first  year  and  27,290  of  its  inhabitants  were  deported. 
The  discontent  of  the  west  was  not  at  once  quieted.  Other  states 
remained  in  rebellion  and  an  Assyrian  army  finally  defeated  them 
at  Raphia,  southwest  of  Gaza,  in  719  b.  c.  Sargon  then  turned 
his  arms  in  other  directions,  fighting  at  various  times  with  the 
kingdom  of  Urartu  in  Armenia,  overcoming  Carchemish,  a  Hittite 
kingdom  on  the  Euphrates  in  717  (see  Isa.  10  :  9),  and  making 
an  expedition  into  Arabia  in  715.  In  711  Ashdod  revolted  and 
Sargon’s  Tartan  or  chief  officer  came  to  put  the  rebellion  down 
(Isa.  20  :  1). 

At  the  beginning  of  Sargon’s  reign  his  arms  had  been  defeated  in 
Babylonia,  and  Merodachbaladan,  a  Chaldaean  (see  2  Kings 
20  :  12),  seized  the  throne  of  Babylon  and  held  it  from  721  to  709. 
Then  he  was  defeated  and  Sargon  took  over  the  control  of  Baby¬ 
lonia.  Merodachbaladan,  however,  escaped  to  the  marsh  lands  at 
the  head  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  survived  to  make  trouble  later. 
In  705  Sargon  died  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Sennacherib, 
who  ruled  from  705  to  681  b.  c.  At  the  beginning  of  his  reign 
troubles  broke  out  in  Babylonia,  which  cannot  here  be  followed  in 
detail.  They  lasted  for  years,  and  none  of  Sennacherib’s  measures 
gave  the  country  permanent  peace.  At  last  Sennacherib  became 
so  incensed  that  he  destroyed  Babylon.  Her  buildings  were  burned 
and  battered  down,  her  walls  overthrown,  and  the  Euphrates 
turned  through  canals  into  the  land  on  which  she  had  stood,  to 
make  it  a  marsh.  One  incident  in  the  series  of  events  which  led 
up  to  this  sad  climax  was  the  reappearance  in  702  of  Merodach¬ 
baladan,  who  seized  the  throne  of  Babylon  and  tried  to  stir  up  a 
rebellion  against  Assyria.  He  even  sent  letters  to  Hezekiah,  King 
of  Judah.  (See  2  Kings  20  :  12.)  At  the  beginning  of  Sennacherib’s 
reign  a  number  of  the  petty  kings  of  Philistia  had  withheld  their 
tribute.  Into  this  revolt  Hezekiah,  King  of  Judah,  had  been  drawn. 
Busied  with  other  wars,  Sennacherib  was  unable  to  quell  this 
rebellion  until  the  year  701.  In  that  year  his  army  met  the  forces 
of  the  confederated  kingdoms  at  Elteke  in  the  valley  of  Aijalon  and 
overcame  them.  Sennacherib  then  proceeded  to  Lachish,  where  he 
received  the  submission  of  the  neighboring  kinglets.  From 
Lachish  he  sent  a  messenger  who  summoned  Hezekiah  of  Judah 
to  submit  (cf.  Isa.  36,  37).  Hezekiah  obeyed  the  summons  and 


64 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


paid  a  heavy  tribute.  Space  does  not  permit  us  to  speak  of  the 
wars  of  Sennacherib  against  Elam  and  other  countries. 

It  would  seem  that  after  Tirhakah  ascended  the  throne  of  Egypt 
in  688  b.  c.,  he  persuaded  the  kingdoms  of  Palestine  to  rebel.  The 
Assyrian  came  west  again  and  threatened  to  invade  Egypt  and  to 
destroy  Jerusalem.  Isaiah  then  predicted  that  Jerusalem  would  be 
delivered  (Isa.  31  :  5),  a  prediction  which  was  fulfilled.  Sennach¬ 
erib’s  army  was  attacked  by  bubonic  plague  and  was  compelled  to 
retire.1 

Sennacherib  was  assassinated  in  681  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
son,  Esarhaddon,  who  ruled  till  668.  Esarhaddon  rebuilt  Babylon, 
which  his  father  had  destroyed,  and  two  years  before  his  death 
conquered  all  of  Lower  Egypt  and  made  it  an  Assyrian  province. 
During  his  reign  a  great  horde  of  Scythians  poured  into  Asia 
through  the  Caucasus  region  from  southern  Russia.  The  Assyrian 
army  prevented  Assyria  from  being  overwhelmed  by  this  horde. 
The  stream  of  invaders  was  divided,  one  part  flowing  east  to  Media, 
the  other  part  westward  to  Asia  Minor. 

Esarhaddon’s  son  and  successor,  Ashurbanipal,  ruled  from  668 
to  626.  His  reign  was  the  Augustan  age  of  Assyria.  At  the 
beginning  he  was  called  upon  to  put  down  a  rebellion  in  Egypt,  and 
as  trouble  there  recurred  several  times,  trouble  which  was  fomented 
by  emissaries  from  Thebes  and  Nubia,  he  finally  in  661  pushed  up 
the  Nile  and  conquered  Thebes  and  gave  it  over  to  plunder.  (See 
Nahum  3  :  8.)  Space  does  not  permit  us  to  follow  Ashurbanipal’s 
wars.  About  the  middle  of  his  reign  his  brother,  Shamash-shum- 
ukin,  who  was  ruling  Babylon,  rebelled  along  with  many  other 
vassals,  and  although  the  rebels  were  finally  put  down,  the  seeds 
of  the  decay  of  Assyria’s  power  were  sown.  Manasseh,  King  of 
Judah,  as  long  as  he  lived  was  a  faithful  vassal  of  Esarhaddon  and 
Ashurbanipal.  (Cf.  2  Kings  19  :  37 ;  2  Chron.  33.) 

The  great  work  of  Ashurbanipal  was  the  collection  of  his  library 
at  Nineveh.  He  sent  to  all  the  old  temples  of  Babylonia  and  had 
copies  made  of  their  incantations,  hymns,  and  epics.  These,  to¬ 
gether  with  chronicles,  medical  tablets,  dictionaries,  etc.,  he  col¬ 
lected  in  his  palace,  where  they  were  found  by  Layard  and  Rassam, 
and  form  the  basis  of  our  knowledge  of  the  Assyrian  and  Babylonian 
language,  literature,  and  history.  With  the  death  of  Ashurbanipal, 

1  For  a  discussion  of  the  reasons  for  the  view  here  stated,  and  a  presentation  of  other  views, 
see  Part  II,  p.  374,  ff. 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


65 


the  last  Assyrian  period  had  really  closed.  Though  the  kingdom 
continued  for  twenty  years  more,  they  were  but  the  years  of  a 
lingering  death. 

(6)  The  N eo- Babylonian  Period. — In  625,  the  year  after  Ashur- 
banipal’s  death,  Nabopolassar,  the  viceroy  of  Babylon,  who  ap¬ 
pears  to  have  been  a  Chaldaean,1  gained  his  independence,  and  es¬ 
tablished  the  Neo-Babylonian,  or  Chaldaean  empire.  Nabopo¬ 
lassar  himself  reigned  till  604  b.  c.  During  his  reign  the  power  of 
the  city  of  Babylon  gradually  extended  over  all  southern  Baby¬ 
lonia,  and  up  the  Euphrates  to  Carchemish.  During  these  years 
Assyria  was  gradually  diminishing  in  territory.  As  Assyria  had 
declined,  Media,  which  had  long  been  in  greater  or  less  degree 
subject  to  Assyria,  had  become  free,  and  Median  kings  had  little 
by  little  gained  control  of  the  country  toward  Assyria.  Nabo¬ 
polassar  finally  made  an  alliance  with  the  Median  king,  and  to¬ 
gether  they  overthrew  Nineveh  in  606  b.  c. 

In  604  Necho  of  Egypt  marched  with  an  army  to  the  Euphrates, 
and  Nabopolassar  sent  his  son,  Nebuchadrezzar  II,  to  meet  him. 
Nebuchadrezzar  defeated  Necho  at  the  battle  of  Carchemish,  and 
hotly  pursued  him  toward  Egypt.  (See  Jer.  46.)  The  pursuit  was, 
however,  interrupted  by  the  death  of  Nabopolassar,  and  the  recall 
of  Nebuchadrezzar  to  Babylon  to  be  crowned  as  king.  The  defeat 
of  Necho  had  made  Judah  a  Babylonian  vassal-state.  Nebuchad¬ 
rezzar  ruled  until  562  b.  c.,  and  raised  Babylon  to  a  height  of  power 
which  rivaled  that  attained  under  the  great  Hammurapi.  He  also 
rebuilt  the  city  in  great  magnificence.  The  palaces,  temples,  and 
walls  of  this  period,  unearthed  by  Koldewey,  were  most  magnificent 
structures.  Owing  to  rebellions,  first  of  Jehoiakim  and  then  of 
Zedekiah,  kings  of  Judah,  Nebuchadrezzar  twice  besieged  Jeru¬ 
salem,  once  in  597,  and  again  in  586  b.  c.,  on  both  occasions  cap¬ 
turing  the  city.  In  586  he  destroyed  it.  (2  Kings  24,  25.)  Fol¬ 
lowing  the  Assyrian  practice,  which  had  prevailed  since  Tiglath- 
pileser  IV,  he  transported  considerable  numbers  of  the  more  influ¬ 
ential  people  of  the  city  each  time  he  took  it.  These  were  settled 
in  Babylonia.  One  colony  of  them  was  stationed  near  Nippur. 
Among  those  who  were  transported  in  597  was  a  young  priest,  who 
afterward  became  the  prophet  Ezekiel.  The  colony  with  which  he 
came  was  settled  by  the  Khubur  canal  near  Nippur.  (See  Ezek. 

1  The  Chaldaeans  were  a  Semitic  people  who  came  into  the  marsh-lands  of  southern  Babylonia 
from  Arabia.  We  can  first  detect  their  presence  in  Babylonia  about  1000  B.  c. 


66 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


1:1.)  The  young  king,  Jehoiachin,  who  was  also  taken  captive 
at  that  time,  remained  in  confinement  during  the  rest  of  Nebu¬ 
chadrezzar’s  reign.  He  was  only  released  by  Amil-Marduk,  Nebu¬ 
chadrezzar’s  son,  who  succeeded  his  father  and  reigned  two  years. 
(See  2  Kings  25  :  27-30'.) 

After  Nebuchadrezzar  the  kingdom  of  Babylon  rapidly  declined 
through  four  reigns.  Meantime,  Cyrus,  who  in  553  had  over¬ 
thrown  the  kingdom  of  Media  and  erected  the  kingdom  of  Persia  on 
its  ruins,  had  been  gradually  extending  his  realm  to  the  AEgean  Sea 
on  the  west,  and  to  the  borders  of  India  on  the  east.  In  538  b.  c. 
Cyrus  captured  Babylon  and  overthrew  Nabuna’id. 

(7)  The  Persian  Period  lasted  from  538  to  331  b.  c.  During 
this  time  Babylonia  was  but  a  province  of  the  Persian  empire, 
though  the  Persian  kings  made  it  one  of  their  capitals.  Cyrus 
reversed  the  policy  of  transportation,  which  had  been  practised  by 
the  Assyrians  and  Babylonians  for  two  hundred  years,  and  per¬ 
mitted  subject  peoples  to  return  to  their  lands  and  restore  their 
institutions  and  worship.  He  sought  to  attach  them  to  his  govern¬ 
ment  by  gratitude  instead  of  fear.  It  was  owing  to  this  policy 
that  the  Jewish  state  was  once  more  established  with  Jerusalem  as 
its  capital,  though  still  a  Persian  colony.  Cambyses  extended 
Persian  power  to  Egypt  in  525,  and  Darius  I,  521-485  b.  c.,  ex¬ 
tended  it  to  India  and  into  Europe.  Under  Darius  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem  was  rebuilt  and  the  Jews  there  tried  unsuccessfully  to 
regain  their  independence.  This  they  attempted  once  more  under 
Artaxerxes  III  about  350  b.  c.,  but  his  general,  Bagoses,  put  down 
their  rebellion  with  great  severity.  During  the  Persian  period  life 
in  Babylonia  went  on  as  before.  The  old  gods  were  worshiped, 
the  old  culture  was  continued,  the  same  language  was  used,  and 
many  business  documents  written  in  it  have  come  down  to  us. 
The  earlier  Persian  kings  employed  it  for  their  inscriptions,  and  in  a 
short  time  the  Persians  made  from  it  an  alphabet  of  their  own. 

(8)  The  Greek  and  Parthian  Periods. — Alexander  the  Great 
overthrew  Darius  III,  the  last  of  the  Persian  kings,  in  331  b.  c., 
when  Assyria  and  Babylonia  passed  under  the  sway  of  the  Mace¬ 
donian.  When  Alexander  returned  from  his  conquest  of  hither 
India  in  325  b.  c.,  he  planned  to  extend  his  empire  westward  to  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  and  to  make  Babylon  its  capital.  Plans  for  the 
enlargement  and  beautifying  of  the  city,  so  as  to  make  it  a  worthy 
capital  for  such  an  empire,  were  under  way  when  Alexander  suddenly 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA 


67 


died  in  June,  323  b.  c.  In  the  final  division  of  the  world  among 
Alexander’s  successors,  Babylonia  fell  to  Seleucus,  together  with 
all  the  territory  from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  borders  of  India. 
As  Seleucus  desired  a  capital  on  the  Mediterranean,  so  as  to  watch 
more  successfully  the  movements  of  his  rivals,  he  built  Antioch  on 
the  Orontes  and  made  it  his  residence.  Babylon  was,  however, 
made  the  capital  of  the  eastern  half  of  the  empire,  and  the  king’s 
son,  as  viceroy,  made  it  his  residence. 

Soon  after  260  b.  c.  Bactria  and  Parthia,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
empire  of  the  Seleucidas,  gained  their  independence.  In  course  of 
time  Parthia  absorbed  Bactria  and  became  an  empire,  which  lasted 
till  230  a.  d.  About  150  b.  c.  the  Parthians  conquered  Babylonia, 
which  remained  with  little  interruption  under  their  sway  till  the 
establishment  of  the  Sassanian  kingdom  of  the  Persians  in  220  a.  d. 
Babylonia  was  under  the  control  of  this  last  dynasty  until  the 
coming  of  the  Mohammedans  in  the  year  637  A.  d.  The  old  culture 
of  the  Babylonians,  their  religion,  language,  and  writing  were  main¬ 
tained  well  down  toward  the  Christian  era.  Copies  of  old  Sumerian 
hymns  have  been  found  in  Babylonia  which  bear  dates  as  late  as 
81  b.  c.,  and  business  documents  in  Semitic  are  numerous.1 

7.  Discoveries  Which  Illumine  the  Bible. — Discoveries  in 
Babylonia  and  Assyria  which  illumine  the  Biblical  narratives  are 
numerous.  The  sites  of  many  cities,  such  as  Ur  of  the  Chaldees, 
Erech,  Babylon,  Ashur,  Nineveh,  and  Calah,  have  been  excavated. 
The  number  of  documents  which  have  come  to  light  which  in  one 
way  or  another  have  a  bearing  on  the  Bible  is  too  numerous  to 
mention  here.  An  effort  has  been  made  in  Part  II  to  translate 
examples  of  most  of  them.  Indeed,  the  greater  part  of  the  material 
in  Part  II  was  recovered  by  excavations  in  these  countries. 

To  Babylonia  and  to  Egypt  mankind  owes  the  wrorking  out  of  the 
initial  problems  of  civilization,  the  processes  of  agriculture,  the 
making  of  bricks,  the  working  of  stone,  the  manufacture  and  use 
of  the  ordinary  implements  of  life,  the  development  of  elementary 
mathematics  and  astronomy,  etc.  These  problems  wTere  by  slow 
processes  independently  worked  out  in  each  country  through  long 
ages.  The  higher  spiritual  concepts  which  have  now  become  the 
heritage  of  man  neither  Babylonia  nor  Egypt  was  fitted  to  con¬ 
tribute.  These  came  through  the  agency  of  other  peoples. 

1  Those  who  desire  fuller  accounts  of  the  history  should  read  L.  W.  King’s  History  of  Sumer  and 
Akkad,  London,  1910,  and  R.  W.  Rogers’  History  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  2d  ed.,  New  York,  1915. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  HITTITES 

A  Forgotten  Empire.  Hittite  Monuments:  Sendjirli.  Boghaz  Koi.  Other 
recent  excavations.  Hittite  Decipherment:  Sayce’s  early  work.  Peiser.  Jensen. 
Conder.  Sayce’s  later  work.  Thompson.  Delitzsch.  Hittite  History:  First 
appearance.  Hyksos  possibly  Hittites.  The  Mitanni.  Kingdom  of  “  Hittite  City.” 
Carchemish.  Samal  and  Yadi.  Hamath. 

1.  A  Forgotten  Empire. — Among  the  peoples  who  are  said  to 
have  been  in  Palestine  in  the  Patriarchal  age  are  the  Hittites  (Gen. 
23  :  10;  26  :  34,  etc.).  They  are  mentioned  most  often  in  the  list 
of  peoples  whom  the  Israelites  drove  out  of  the  country  when  they 
conquered  it:  “the  Canaanite,  the  Hittite,  the  Amorite,  the  Hivite, 
and  the  Jebusite,”  and  the  man  is  still  living  who  first  suspected 
that  anything  more  than  this  could  be  known  of  them.  This  man 
was  Prof.  Sayce,  of  Oxford.  In  the  inscriptions  of  the  Egyptian 
kings  of  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  dynasties  there  is  frequent 
mention  of  a  people  called  Kheta.  In  the  inscriptions  of  Assyrian 
kings  there  is  also  frequent  mention  of  a  people  called  Kha-at-tu. 
Slowly,  too,  during  the  nineteenth  century  rock-carvings,  often 
accompanied  by  inscriptions  in  a  peculiar  hieroglyph,  were  found 
scattered  through  northern  Syria  and  Asia  Minor.  The  figures  of 
gods  and  men  on  these  carvings  usually  wore  caps  of  a  peculiarly 
pointed  type  and  shoes  turned  far  up  at  the  toe.  In  1876  it  dawned 
upon  Prof.  Sayce  that  these  were  all  references  to  the  Biblical 
Hittites.  He  proceeded  to  elaborate  this  view  in  two  articles  pub¬ 
lished  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archceology , 
Vols.  V  and  VII. 

About  the  same  time  the  Rev.  William  Wright  independently 
started  the  same  idea,  and  gave  it  expression  in  his  book,  The 
Empire  of  the  Hittites,  1884,  2d  ed.,  1885.  At  this  period  it  was 
impossible  to  discern  more  than  that  there  had  been  a  widely 
scattered  Hittite  civilization,  which  might  have  been  an  empire. 

2.  Hittite  Monuments. — This  civilization,  it  was  seen,  had  left 
its  monuments  at  Hamath  in  Syria,  at  Carchemish  on  the  Euphra¬ 
tes,  at  various  points  in  ancient  Cappadocia,  Lycaonia,  and  Phrygia, 

68 


THE  HITTITES 


69 


as  well  as  near  Smyrna  in  Asia  Minor  and  on  the  Lydian  mountains 
to  the  west  of  Sardis.  In  1891  Prof.  W.  Max  Muller,  of  Philadel¬ 
phia,  reached  the  conclusion  from  a  study  of  the  Egyptian  inscrip¬ 
tions  that  the  Hittites  had  come  into  Syria  from  the  northwest,  and 
that  their  main  strength  was  in  Asia  Minor.  Among  the  letters 
found  at  El-Amarna  in  Egypt  in  1887-1888  were  some  from  Dush- 
ratta,  a  king  of  Mitanni.  A  study  of  these  made  it  clear  that  the 
Mitanni  inhabited  the  region  on  both  sides  of  the  Euphrates  north 
of  Carchemish,  and  that  they  were  of  the  same  stock  as  the  Hittites. 
Our  sources  of  information  indicate  that  the  territory  of  the 
Mitanni  lay  east  of  the  Euphrates,  but  scattered  monuments  of 
the  Hittite  type  are  found  on  the  west  of  that  river. 

(1)  Sendjirli. — From  1888  to  1891  a  German  expedition  exca¬ 
vated  at  Sendjirli,  near  the  head-waters  of  the  Kara  Su  in  northern 
Syria,  and  brought  to  light  most  interesting  remains  of  a  civiliza¬ 
tion  that  was  fundamentally  Hittite.  Inscriptions  found  here 
dated  in  the  reigns  of  Tiglath-pileser  IV  and  Esarhaddon  were  in 
Aramaic.  By  this  time  there  had  been  an  influx  of  Aramaeans,  but 
the  art  shows  that  Hittites  held  the  place  at  an  earlier  time,  and 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  one  of  the  kings  mentioned  here  had, 
about  850  b.  c.,  joined  in  a  Hittite  federation. 

(2)  Boghaz  Koi. — Among  the  monuments  known  to  Prof. 
Sayce  at  the  beginning  of  his  brilliant  studies  of  the  Hittites,  were 
some  from  Boghaz  Koi,  in  Asia  Minor.  Different  travelers  had 
noted  that  here  must  have  been  a  somewhat  extensive  city,  adorned 
with  several  large  buildings,  all  of  which  were  ornamented  with 
carvings  of  the  peculiar  Hittite  type.  In  1906  the  late  Prof. 
Winckler,  of  Berlin,  excavating  here  in  connection  with  the  author¬ 
ities  of  the  Turkish  Museum  at  Constantinople,  discovered  an 
archive  of  clay  tablets  inscribed  in  Babylonian  characters.  A 
group  of  similar  tablets  from  Cappadocia  had  been  previously 
purchased  by  the  British  Museum.  Winckler’s  discovery  was  im¬ 
portant  because  he  found  some  of  the  tablets  inscribed  in  Hittite 
written  in  cuneiform  characters.  Of  those  written  in  the  Baby¬ 
lonian  language,  one  contained  a  copy  of  the  great  treaty  between 
Hattusil,  a  Hittite  king,  and  Ramses  II  of  Egypt.  There  were  also 
tablets  containing  Sumerian  and  Semitic  equivalents  of  Hittite 
words.  Owing  to  the  long  illness  of  Winckler  which  followed  these 
discoveries,  an  illness  that  terminated  in  death,  the  results  of  this 
discovery  are  only  now  being  given  to  the  world. 


70 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


In  1907  Winckler  and  Puchstein,  in  conjunction  with  Makridy 
Bey  of  the  Turkish  Museum,  made  a  thorough  examination  of  the 
remains  of  walls  and  buildings  at  Boghaz  Koi.  The  results  have 
since  been  published  in  a  handsome  volume  entitled  Boghaskoi, 
die  Bauwerke,  Leipzig,  1912;  (see  Figs.  23  and  25). 

(3)  Other  Recent  Excavations. — An  American  expedition  con¬ 
sisting  of  Drs.  Olmstead,  Charles,  and  Wrench,  of  Cornell  Univer¬ 
sity,  explored  in  Asia  Minor  in  1907-1908.  The  members  of  this 
expedition  collated  all  the  known  monuments  of  the  Hittites,  but 
so  far  only  their  collation  of  the  inscriptions  has  been  published. 

The  Institute  of  Archaeology  of  the  University  of  Liverpool  has 
also  sent  one  or  more  expeditions  to  explore  the  Hittite  country. 
In  1910  they  excavated  to  some  extent  at  Sakje-Geuze,  not  far 
from  Sendjirli,  but  their  results  are  not  yet  published. 

Since  1911  the  trustees  of  the  British  Museum  have  had  an 
excavation  in  progress  at  the  site  of  ancient  Carchemish  on  the 
Euphrates.  Here  most  important  Hittite  remains  have  been  discov¬ 
ered,  though  again  the  details  of  the  work  have  not  been  given  to 
the  public.  The  expedition  has  also  made  some  minor  excavations 
at  several  points  in  the  neighborhood,  and  find  that  Hittite  remains 
are  numerous  in  that  region.  In  addition  to  these  places,  Hittite 
remains  have  been  observed  at  Yaila,  Marash,  Giaour-Kalesi,  Kara- 
burna,  Kizil  Dagh,  Fraktin,  Ivriz,  Kara-Bel,  Mount  Sypilus, 
Tashji,  Asarjik,  Buighar-Maden,  Gurun,  and  Kara  Dagh.  One 
who  will  look  up  these  places  on  a  map  of  modern  Turkey  will 
see  that  Hittite  monuments  are  distributed  from  near  the  shores 
of  the  Egean  Sea  to  the  Euphrates  at  Carchemish  and  to  Hamath 
in  Syria.  {For  addition  to  this  section,  see  Appendix.) 

3.  Hittite  Decipherment. 

(1)  Sayce’s  Early  Work. — Prof.  Sayce,  whose  insight  first 
grasped  the  significance  of  the  Hittite  monuments,  was  also  the 
first  to  attempt  the  solution  of  the  riddle  which  the  inscriptions 
present.  In  1880  he  thought  he  had  found  a  key  to  the  writing, 
such  as  the  Rosetta  Stone  had  been  to  Egyptian,  in  the  so-called 
“Boss  of  Tarkondemos”;  (see  Fig.  26).  This  “boss”  consisted  of  a 
round  silver  plate,  in  form  like  half  an  orange,  which  must  have 
covered  the  knob  of  a  staff  or  dagger.  This  had  been  described  by 
Dr.  A.  D.  Mordtmann,  in  the  Journal  of  the  German  Oriental  So¬ 
ciety  in  1872.  The  original  was  then  in  the  possession  of  Alexander 
Jovanoff,  a  numismatist  of  Constantinople,  who  had  obtained  it  at 


THE  HITTITES 


71 


Smyrna.  The  “boss”  bore  in  its  center  a  figure  of  the  peculiar 
Hittite  form,  flanked  on  both  sides  by  writing  in  the  Hittite  char¬ 
acters,  while  around  the  whole  was  an  inscription  in  the  cuneiform 
writing  of  Assyria.  From  this  Sayce  tentatively  determined  the 
values  of  a  number  of  Hittite  signs.  The  results  were,  however, 
attended  with  considerable  uncertainty,  since  the  Assyrian  charac¬ 
ters  were  capable  of  being  read  in  more  than  one  way.  Using 
the  key  thus  obtained,  Sayce  enlarged  his  list  of  supposed  sign- values 
and  in  1884  and  1885  published  as  known  the  values  of  thirty- two 
Elittite  signs.  In  the  years  that  followed  Ball  and  Menant  took 
up  the  discussion  of  the  Hittite  signs,  but  with  no  decisive 
result. 

In  1889  Winckler  and  Abel  published  in  one  of  the  volumes  of 
the  Royal  Museum  at  Berlin  the  first  instalment  of  the  text  of 
the  El-Amarna  letters,  in  which  there  were  two  from  Dushratta, 
King  of  Mitanni,  in  the  native  language  of  that  country,  though 
written  in  Babylonian  characters.  In  the  following  year,  1890, 
Profs.  Jensen,  Briinnow,  and  Sayce  all  published  in  the  Zeitschrift 
fur  Assyriologie  studies  of  this  language,  Sayce  even  venturing  a 
translation  of  a  part  of  the  text.  Each  of  these  scholars  had  worked 
independently  of  the  others,  but  none  of  them  seems  to  have  sus¬ 
pected  that  the  language  had  anything  to  do  with  Hittite. 

(2)  Peiser. — In  1892  Dr.  Peiser,  then  of  Breslau  University, 
published  his  book  on  the  Hittite  inscriptions,  in  which  he  essayed 
another  method  of  decipherment.  Layard  had  found  four  Hittite 
seals  in  the  palace  of  Sennacherib  at  Nineveh.  Peiser  inferred 
that  these  must  be  seals  of  four  Hittite  kings  mentioned  in  the 
inscriptions  of  that  time,  and  proceeded  to  assign  each  seal  to  the 
name  of  a  known  Hittite  king,  and  interpret  the  signs  on  the  seal 
by  the  name  of  that  king  as  spelled  out  in  the  cuneiform  characters 
of  the  Assyrian  inscriptions.  Having  obtained  in  this  way  tenta¬ 
tive  values  for  several  signs,  he  proceeded  by  inference  to  guess  at 
other  signs,  and  so  tentatively  read  some  inscriptions. 

(3)  Jensen. — Prof.  Jensen,  of  Marburg,  wrote  in  that  same  year 
an  unfavorable  review  of  Peiser’s  work.  When  reading  the  proofs 
of  his  review  he  added  a  postscript  to  say  that  he  believed  he 
had  himself  discovered  the  key  to  Hittite.  Two  years  later,  1894, 
he  published  in  the  Journal  of  the  German  Oriental  Society  his 
method  of  solving  the  problem.  Jensen’s  starting-point  was  gained 
from  inscriptions  from  Jerabis,  the  site  of  ancient  Carchemish, 


72 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Hamath,  and  other  places.  He  inferred  that  a  certain  sign  was 
the  determinative  for  city,  and  that  the  names  preceding  this  sign 
were  names  of  places.  Gaining  in  this  way  some  values  for  signs, 
he  read  the  names  of  some  kings.  He  found  that  these  names  had 
nominatives  ending  in  5  and  accusative  cases  ending  in  w;  he  ac¬ 
cordingly  leaped  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Hittite  language  was  a 
member  of  the  Indo-European  group  of  languages,  as  this  is  the 
only  known  group  of  tongues  in  which  this  phenomenon  occurs. 
This  inference  later  research  has  in  part  confirmed.  Jensen,  how¬ 
ever,  went  further  and  endeavored  to  show  that  the  Hittites  were 
the  ancestors  of  the  Armenians  of  later  time.  This  theory  led  to 
the  publication  in  1898  of  his  book,  Hittiter  und  Armenier.  Of  the 
correctness  of  this  view  he  has  not  been  able  to  convince  other 
scholars.  By  this  time  Jensen  and  others  had  begun  to  see  that 
the  Mitannians  and  the  Hittites  were  kindred  peoples  and  wor¬ 
shiped  the  same  gods.  It  is  now  recognized  that  Jensen  correctly 
ascertained  the  value  of  some  signs,  though  many  of  his  guesses, 
like  those  of  his  predecessors,  have  proved  incorrect. 

(4)  Conder. — In  1898  Lieut.-Col.  C.  R.  Conder  published  The 
Hittites  and  Their  Language ,  a  work  in  which  he  presented  still 
another  decipherment  of  the  inscriptions.  Conder’s  decipherment 
was  based  on  a  comparison  of  the  Hittite  characters  with  the 
Sumerian  pictographs  on  the  one  hand  and  the  syllabary  which 
was  used  by  Greeks  in  Cyprus,  Caria,  and  Lydia  on  the  other. 
He  assumed  that  if  a  picture  had  in  Sumerian  a  certain  syllabic 
value,  and  if  the  Cypriotic  syllabary  presented  a  character  some¬ 
what  resembling  it  which  had  a  similar  value,  the  Hittite  character 
which  most  closely  resembled  these  must  have  the  same  value,  since 
the  Hittites  lived  between  the  two  peoples  who  used  the  other 
syllabaries.  This  system  of  decipherment  has  attracted  no  ad¬ 
herents  because  it  is  based  on  a  fallacious  inference.  It  does  not 
follow  because  a  nation  lives  between  two  other  nations,  that  its 
institutions  are  kindred  to  those  of  its  neighbors.  One  could  not 
explain  writings  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  Arizona,  for  example,  by 
comparing  them  with  books  printed  in  English  in  St.  Louis  and  in 
Spanish  in  Los  Angeles!  In  1899  Messerschmidt,  who  was  col¬ 
lecting  in  one  body  all  the  known  Hittite  inscriptions  for  publi¬ 
cation,  published  a  study  of  the  language  of  Mitanni,1  which  ad¬ 
vanced  our  knowledge  of  the  language  of  the  letters  of  Dushratta. 

1  In  the  Mitteilungen  der  vorderasiatischen  Gesellschaft,  1899,  Heft.  4. 


THE  HITTITES 


73 


Messerschmidt’s  later  publication  of  the  Hittite  inscriptions1  made 
it  far  easier  for  scholars  to  study  the  subject. 

(5)  Sayce’s  Later  Work. — Stimulated  by  Jensen’s  efforts,  Prof. 
Sayce  returned  to  the  study  of  Hittite  in  1903,  and  published  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archceology  of  that  year  (Vol. 
XXV)  a  new  decipherment.  He  followed  Jensen’s  method,  accept¬ 
ing  a  number  of  Jensen’s  readings  as  proved,  and  with  the  original¬ 
ity  and  daring  that  characterize  so  much  of  his  work,  launched  many 
new  readings.  Some  of  these  have  commended  themselves  to  his 

4  successors. 

In  1909  Ferdinand  Bork  returned  to  the  problem  of  the  language 
of  Mitanni,  and  published  a  pretty  complete  decipherment  of 
the  Mitannian  tablets  in  the  El-Amarna  letters.  In  1911  Dr.  B.  B. 
Charles,  the  philologist  of  the  Cornell  expedition  to  Asia  Minor, 
published  as  Part  II  of  Volume  I  of  Travels  and  Studies  in  the  Nearer 
East,  which  is  to  embody  the  results  of  the  Cornell  expedition,  his 
collation  of  the  Hittite  inscriptions.  This  publication  added  some 
new  texts  to  those  previously  known.  In  1912  Prof.  Clay,  of  Yale, 
rendered  the  subject  of  Hittiteology  a  distinct  service  by  including 
in  his  volume  of  Personal  Names  from  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of 
the  Cassite  Period  a  list  of  Hittite  and  Mitannian  proper  names,  and 
a  list  of  the  nominal  and  verbal  elements  which  enter  into  the  com¬ 
position  of  such  names. 

(6)  Thompson. — The  latest  attempt  on  a  large  scale  to  unravel 
the  mystery  of  the  Hittite  inscriptions  is  that  of  R.  Campbell 
Thompson,  “A  New  Decipherment  of  the  Hittite  Hieroglyphs,” 
published  in  Archceologia,  second  series,  Vol.  XIV,  Oxford,  1913. 
Mr.  Thompson  was  a  member  of  the  British  expedition  which  ex¬ 
cavated  Carchemish,  and  gained  the  idea  which  gave  him  the 
starting-point  for  his  decipherment  from  an  inscription  excavated 
by  that  expedition.  This  inscription  contained  many  proper  names, 
and,  after  passing  it  and  looking  at  it  every  day  for  a  long  time,  it 
occurred  to  Mr.  Thompson  that  a  certain  elaborate  sign  which  fre¬ 
quently  occurred  in  it  might  be  a  part  of  the  name  of  the  Hittite 
King  Sangar,  who  is  frequently  mentioned  by  Ashurnasirpal  II  and 
Shalmeneser  III  of  Assyria.  In  seeking  proof  for  this  Mr.  Thomp¬ 
son  was  led  into  a  study  of  the  texts  which  resulted  in  a  new  inter¬ 
pretation  of  the  Hittite  signs.  His  work  is  logical  at  every  point, 
he  makes  no  inference  without  first  examining  all  the  occurrences 

1  In  the  Mitteilungen  der  vorderasiatischen  Gesellsckaft,  1900,  Hefte  4  and  5. 


74 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


in  the  known  texts  of  the  group  of  signs  in  question,  and  he  tests 
his  inferences  wherever  possible  by  the  known  results  of  a  study  of 
Mitannian  and  cuneiform  Hittite.  It  is  too  soon  to  pronounce  a 
final  verdict,  but  it  looks,  as  though  Thompson  had  materially 
advanced  the  decipherment  of  Llittite. 

(7)  Delitzsch. — After  the  death  of  Prof.  Winckler,  the  cuneiform 
tablets  which  he  had  discovered  at  Boghaz  Koi  were  turned  over  to 
Ernst  Weidner  for  publication.  That  publication  is  soon  to  appear, 
but  Prof.  Friedrich  Delitzsch,  under  whose  general  direction 
Weidner  is  working,  published  in  May,  1914,  a  study  based  on 
twenty-six  fragments  of  lexicographical  texts  which  are  to  appear 
in  Weidner ’s  work.  These  texts  defined  Hittite  words  in  Sumerian 
and  in  Assyrian.  Although  the  texts  are  very  fragmentary,  Prof. 
Delitzsch  has  been  able  to  gain  in  this  way  a  vocabulary  of  about 
165  Hittite  words,  the  meanings  of  most  of  which  are  known,  and 
to  ascertain  some  facts  about  the  grammar  of  Hittite. 

We  are,  it  would  seem,  just  on  the  eve  of  a  complete  mastery  of 
the  secrets  of  the  Hittite  inscriptions.  The  more  our  knowledge 
of  the  Hittites  grows,  the  less  simple  seems  the  problem  of  their 
racial  affinities.  Some  features  of  their  speech  clearly  resemble 
features  of  the  Indo-European  family  of  languages,  but  other 
features  would  seem  to  denote  Tartar  affinities.  In  a  number  of 
instances  the  influence  of  the  Assyrian  language  can  clearly  be 
traced.  The  same  confusion  presents  itself  when  we  study  the 
pictures  of  Hittites  as  they  appear  in  Egyptian  reliefs.  Two  dis¬ 
tinct  types  of  face  are  there  portrayed.  One  type  has  high  cheek 
bones,  oblique  eyes,  and  wears  a  pigtail,  like  the  peoples  of  Mon¬ 
golia  and  China;  the  other  has  a  clean-cut  head  and  face  which 
resemble  somewhat  the  early  Greeks.  These  may  wTell  have  been 
Aryans.  That  there  was  a  strain  in  the  Hittite  composition  that 
came  from  Turkestan  or  that  came  through  that  country  is  also 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  Hittites  were  the  first  of  the  peo¬ 
ples  of  western  Asia  to  use  the  horse.  Evidence  of  the  use  of 
the  horse  as  a  domestic  animal  by  the  people  of  Turkestan  at  an 
early  date  was  brought  to  light  by  the  excavations  of  Prof.  Pum- 
pelly1  in  that  land,  so  that  the  presence  of  horses  among  the  Hittites 
naturally  suggests  some  connection  with  that  region.  Among  the 
Hittite  allies  Semitic  Amorites  are  also  pictured.  These  have  re¬ 
ceding  foreheads  and  projecting  beards. 

1  See  Pumpelly,  Explorations  in  Turkestan,  Washington,  1908,  I,  p.  50,  f. 


THE  HITTITES 


75 


4.  Hittite  History. 

(1)  First  Appearance. — The  earliest  reference  to  the  Hittites 
which  we  have  in  any  wTritten  record  occurs  in  a  Babylonian  chron¬ 
icle,  which  states  that  “against  Shamsu-ditana  the  men  of  the 
country  Khattu  marched.”1  Shamsu-ditana  was  the  last  king  of 
the  first  dynasty  of  Babylon.  His  reign  terminated  in  1924  b.  c. 
Khattu  land,  as  will  appear  further  on,  was  the  name  later  given 
to  the  Hittite  settlement  in  Cappadocia.  One  would  naturally  sup¬ 
pose  that  the  name  would  have  the  same  significance  here,  but  of 
this  we  cannot  be  certain.  The  tablet  on  which  this  chronicle  was 
written  was  inscribed  in  the  Persian  or  late  Babylonian  period,  but 
there  is  evidence  that  it  was  copied  from  an  earlier  original.  If  its 
statement  is  true,  the  Hittites  had  made  their  appearance  in  history 
and  were  prepared  to  mingle  in  that  melee  of  the  races  which 
occurred  when  the  first  dynasty  of  Babylon  was  overthrown. 
Nothing  is  said  in  the  chronicle  as  to  the  location  of  the  land  of 
Khattu,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Hittites  approached 
Babylonia  from  the  northwest.  Their  seat  must  have  been  in  the 
region  where  we  later  find  the  Hittites,  or  Mitanni.  At  what 
period  the  Hittites  came  into  this  region  we  can  only  conjecture. 
The  excavations  at  Sakje-Geuze  reveal  a  civilization  there  extending 
back  to  about  3000  b.  c.,  which  resembled  that  found  at  Susa  in 
Elam  belonging  to  the  same  period.  This  civilization  may  not 
have  been  Hittite  in  its  beginnings.  Mr.  Woolley,  a  member  of 
the  British  expedition  which  has  excavated  at  Carchemish,  in  a 
study  of  the  objects  found  in  tombs  at  Carchemish  and  at  other 
places  near  by,  thinks  it  possible  that  the  coming  of  the  Hittites  is 
marked  by  a  transition  period  in  the  art — a  period  the  termination 
of  which  he  marks  by  the  date  of  the  fall  of  the  first  dynasty  of 
Babylon.  It  may  well  be  that  Indo-Europeans  followed  by  Mon¬ 
gols  came  about  2100  or  2000  into  this  region,  or  that  the  Mongols 
were  there  earlier  and  that  the  Indo-Europeans  then  came.  In  the 
resultant  civilization  it  would  seem,  from  the  information  that  we 
have,  that  there  was  a  mingling  of  the  two  races;  (see  Fig.  24). 

(2)  Hyksos  Possibly  Hittites. — Since  the  Hittites  were  able  to 
help  overthrow  the  first  dynasty  of  Babylon,  some  scholars  have 
recognized  the  possibility  that  those  invaders  of  Egypt  who  estab¬ 
lished  the  dynasties  called  Hyksos  may  have  been  Hittites,  or  may 
have  been  led  by  Hittites.  There  is  much  evidence  that  many 

1  See  L.  W.  King,  Chronicles  Concerning  Early  Babylonian  Kings,  London,  1907,  Vol.  II,  p.  22. 


76 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Semites  entered  Egypt  at  that  time,  but  as  Syria  and  Palestine 
were  peopled  with  Semites  earlier  than  this,  such  an  invasion  would 
naturally  have  had  many  Semites  among  its  camp  followers,  if 
not  in  its  armies,  even  if  the  leaders  were  Hittites.  At  present, 
however,  this  is  but  a  possibility.  Some  slight  evidence  in  favor  of 
the  possibility  may  be  found  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  Jerusalem 
who  was  a  vassal  of  Amenophis  IV,  and  who  wrote  the  letters  from 
Jerusalem  which  are  in  the  El-Amarna  collection.  (See  Part  II, 
p.  345,  ff.)  His  name  was  Abdi-Hepa,  and  Hepa  was  a  Hittite  and 
Mitannian  deity.  Abdi-Hepa  had  grown  up  a  trusted  subject  of 
the  Egyptians.  His  ancestors  must,  therefore,  have  been  in  Pales¬ 
tine  for  some  time.  A  settlement  of  Hittites  there  in  the  Hyksos 
days  would  account  for  this.  The  twenty-third  chapter  of  Genesis 
represents  the  city  of  Hebron  as  in  the  possession  of  the  Hittites 
when  Abraham  purchased  the  cave  of  Machpelah  as  a  place  of 
burial  for  his  dead,  and,  though  many  scholars  regard  Genesis  23, 
which  gives  this  account,  as  a  late  composition,  its  representation 
would  receive  some  confirmation  from  archaeology,  if  the  Hyksos 
were  Hittites. 

There  is  a  possibility  that  the  Hittites  were  in  southern  Pales¬ 
tine  earlier  than  this.  Brugsch1  thought  that  he  found  in  an 
inscription  in  the  Louvre,  written  by  an  officer  of  Amenemhet  I, 
King  of  Egypt,  2000-1970  b.  c.,  a  statement  that  this  officer  had 
destroyed  the  palaces  of  the  Hittites  near  the  Egyptian  frontier  of 
Palestine.  This  reading  is  still  defended  by  Prof.  Sayce,2  though 
other  Egyptologists,  such  as  W.  Max  Muller3  and  Breasted,4  claim 
that  the  word  that  was  thought  to  be  Hittites  is  not  a  proper  name, 
but  a  common  noun  meaning  nomads.  The  text  of  the  passage  is 
uncertain,  and  no  important  inference  can  in  any  case  be  made 
from  it. 

During  the  period  when  we  obtain  glimpses  of  the  history  of  the 
Hittites,  they  were  never  united  in  one  empire.  Different  king¬ 
doms  flourished  here  and  there,  such  as  that  of  the  Mitanni  in 
Mesopotamia,  the  Hittites  at  Boghaz  Koi,  the  kingdoms  of  Car- 
chemish,  of  Hamath,  and  Tyana.  These  flourished  at  different 
times  all  the  way  from  1400  to  700  b.  c.,  and  there  were  doubtless 
other  kingdoms  also,  for  the  Llittite  sculptures  near  Smyrna  and 

1  History  of  Egypt,  II,  404,  405. 

2  Expository  Times,  November,  1914,  p.  91. 

8  Asien  und  Europa  nach  altdgyptischen  Denkmalern,  319,  note  3 

4  Ancient  Records,  Egypt,  I,  227,  228. 


THE  HITTITES 


77 


Manissia  cannot  have  been  made  by  any  of  these,  unless  possibly 
the  great  Hittite  kingdom  at  Boghaz  Koi  may  once  have  extended 
its  power  to  the  ^Egean. 

(3)  The  Mitanni. — The  earliest  of  these  kingdoms  which  we  can 
trace  is  that  of  the  Mitanni.  When  Thothmes  III  of  Egypt  ex¬ 
tended  his  conquests  to  the  Euphrates  in  1468  b.  c.,  he  came  into 
contact  with  the  Mitanni.  The  king  of  the  country  is  not  named, 
but  it  was  claimed  that  her  chiefs  hid  themselves  in  caves.1  There 
is  some  reason  for  believing  that  their  chief  city  was  at  Haran2  in 
Mesopotamia,  the  city  where  Abraham  sojourned  for  a  time  (Gen. 
11  :  31;  12  : 4).  If  this  be  true,  it  gives  a  new  meaning  to  Ezek. 
16  :  3 :  “The  Amorite  was  thy  father  and  thy  mother  was  a  Hittite.” 
Thothmes  evidently  touched  the  kingdom  of  Mitanni  on  its  western 
border.  He  did  not  penetrate  its  heart  or  overcome  its  king. 
Although  he  took  tribute,  he  does  not  tell  us  the  name  of  the  king 
of  the  Mitanni  whose  armies  he  fought. 

Half  a  century  later  the  king  of  the  Mitanni  was  Artatama  I. 
He  was  a  contemporary  of  Thothmes  IV  of  Egypt,  who  ruled 
1420-1411  b.  c.  Perhaps  it  was  their  mutual  fear  of  the  rising 
power  of  the  Hittite  kingdom  at  Boghaz  Koi  that  led  Artatama  and 
Thothmes  IV  to  form  an  alliance.  At  all  events,  such  an  alliance 
was  made,  and  Thothmes  married  a  daughter  of  Artatama,  though 
Artatama’s  grandson  says  that  the  Egyptian  king  sent  his  request 
for  her  hand  seven  times  before  Artatama  yielded  to  his  solicita¬ 
tions.  Artatama  I  was  succeeded  by  Shutarna  I,  whose  reign  over¬ 
lapped  a  part  of  that  of  Amenophis  III  of  Egypt,  1411-1375  b.  c. 
Among  the  queens  of  Amenophis  III  was  a  daughter  of  Shutarna  I. 
Before  the  reign  of  Amenophis  III  had  ended  Shutarna  I  had  been 
succeeded  by  Dushratta,  who  continued  the  friendly  relations  with 
Egypt.  Dushratta’s  reign  also  overlapped  in  part  that  of  Ameno¬ 
phis  IV  of  Egypt,  1375-1357  b.  c.,  and  Dushratta  wrote  several 
letters  to  both  of  these  Egyptian  kings.  It  is  from  these  letters 
that  we  gain  most  of  our  information  about  Mitanni. 

Meanwhile  the  great  kingdom  of  the  Hittites  at  Boghaz  Koi  had 
entered  upon  its  era  of  expansion  under  Subbiluliuma,  who  pushed 
his  conquests  first  eastward  and  then  southward.  Dushratta  feared 
to  meet  the  Hittite  in  battle  and  retired  to  the  eastward,  allowing 
much  of  his  country  to  be  overrun.  This  land  Subbiluliuma  gave 

1  Breasted’s  Ancient  Records,  Egypt,  II,  §  773. 

1  Winckler  in  Mitteilungen  der  vorderasialischen  Gesellschaft,  1913,  Heft  4,  p.  81. 


78 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


to  one  of  his  allies,  ancj  Dushratta  was  murdered  soon  afterward  by 
his  son,  Sutatarra,  who  usurped  the  crown.  Soon  after  this  the 
Assyrians  invaded  the  lands  of  the  Mitanni  from  the  east,  and  the 
land,  already  distracted  by  its  internal  divisions,  was  thrown  into  a 
worse  confusion.  At  this  juncture  Subbiluliuma  crossed  the 
Euphrates  again  and  entered  Mitannian  territory.  He  was  ac¬ 
companied  by  settlers  who  brought  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses  to 
remain  in  the  country.  Advised  by  an  oracle,  he  deposed  Sutatarra 
and  placed  upon  the  throne  Mattiuaza,  a  son  of  Dushratta,  who 
had  been  heir-apparent  and  who  had  fled  when  his  father  was 
murdered.  To  Mattiuaza  Subbiluliuma  gave  his  daughter  in 
marriage,  and  Mitanni  became  a  vassal  state  of  the  Hittite  realm. 
After  this  our  sources  tell  us  no  more  of  its  history. 

Near  the  Mitanni  were  the  Harri,  who  were  probably  of  the  same 
race,  for  in  the  time  of  Subbiluliuma  they  were  ruled  first  by 
Artatama  II,  a  brother  of  Dushratta,  and  then  by  Sutarna  II. 
This  state  also  became  a  part  of  Subbiluliuma’s  kingdom. 

(4)  Kingdom  of  “  Hittite  City  .” — The  wave  of  migration  from 
the  northeast  which  brought  the  Mitanni  into  upper  Mesopotamia 
had  swept  on  westward  into  Cappadocia,  where  the  greatest  Hittite 
state  afterward  developed.  The  monuments  erected  by  the  Hittites 
were  nearly  all  of  a  religious  character.  In  the  earlier  time  they 
wrote  few  historical  inscriptions.  Such  inscriptions  as  we  have  in 
Hittite  hieroglyphs  seem  to  come  from  the  later  periods  and  to 
record  alliances.  It  is  probable  that  in  the  development  of  the 
Hittite  state  in  Cappadocia  first  one  city  and  then  another  had  the 
upper  hand.  The  Hittite  monuments  at  Eyuk  are  of  a  more  primi¬ 
tive  character  than  those  at  Boghaz  Koi,  and  it  is  natural  to  suppose 
that  a  Hittite  state  flourished  here  before  the  rise  of  the  one  at 
Boghaz  Koi.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  most  powerful  Hittite  mon¬ 
archy  of  which  we  know  arose  at  Boghaz  Koi,  which  they  called 
“Hittite  City.”  This  monarchy  emerged  about  1400  b.  c.  Its  first 
king  was  Hattusil  I,  of  whom  we  know  no  more  than  that  he  was 
the  founder  of  the  great  dynasty  which  ruled  from  the  “Hittite 
City”  for  two  hundred  years. 

The  king  who  laid  the  foundations  of  the  greatness  of  this  dynasty 
was  Subbiluliuma,  the  next  king,  whose  conquests  over  the  Mitanni 
and  Harri  we  have  already  traced.  He  conquered  also  a  number  of 
neighboring  states,  and  compelled  them  to  sign  with  him  treaties  of 
alliance  which  made  them  his  vassals.  Chronicles  of  these  events 


THE  HITTITES 


79 


were  discovered  by  Winckler  among  the  clay  tablets  found  at 
Boghaz  Koi.  Subbiluliuma  also  turned  his  armies  southward  and 
conquered  Syria  down  to  the  confines  of  Palestine.  These  con¬ 
quests  were  in  progress  when  some  of  the  El-Amarna  letters,  writ¬ 
ten  to  Amenophis  IV  of  Egypt  and  translated  in  Part  II,  p.  344,  ff., 
were  written.  Here  he  pursued  the  same  policy  that  he  had  pur¬ 
sued  in  Mesopotamia,  and  compelled  the  conquered  countries  to 
enter  into  treaties  with  him,  which  subjugated  them  to  his  will. 
Among  the  kings  so  treated  was  the  Amorite  King  Aziru,  who  at 
that  time  ruled  Amorites  living  in  the  southern  part  of  the  valley 
between  the  Lebanon  mountain  ranges  and  in  the  region  afterward 
occupied  by  the  tribe  of  Asher.  They  also  held  some  of  the 
southern  Phoenician  cities.  This  represents  the  most  southerly 
extension  of  Subbiluliuma’s  power. 

Whether  Subbiluliuma  also  extended  his  conquests  to  the  west 
of  Asia  Minor,  we  have  no  means  of  knowing.  Some  scholars  sup¬ 
pose  that  he  had  done  so  before  he  began  the  conquest  of  Mitanni. 
Certain  it  is  that  Hittite  rock  sculptures  of  gigantic  size  exist  in 
the  mountains  near  Smyrna  and  Manissia,  to  the  west  of  Sardis. 
These  sculptures  represent  the  great  Hittite  goddess.  Near 
Smyrna  there  are  also  the  remains  of  great  buildings.  We  know  of 
no  Hittite  monarch  who  would  be  so  likely  to  have  carried  Hittite 
power  to  these  parts  as  Subbiluliuma.  If  he  did  so,  possibly  in 
later  time  the  Hittites  here  became  independent.  At  all  events, 
some  centuries  later  they  were  known  to  Ionian  Greeks  in  this 
region,  for  Homer’s  Odyssey ,  Book  XI,  line  521,  records  the  tradition 
that  some  Hittites  were  killed  with  Eurypylos. 

When  Subbiluliuma  died  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Arandas, 
whose  occupation  of  the  throne  was  brief,  and  who  seems  to  have 
been  without  effective  power.  After  a  short  time  he  was  replaced 
by  his  brother,  Mursil,  who  appears  to  have  enjoyed  a  long  reign. 
Subbiluliuma,  called  by  the  Egyptians  Seplel,  was  reigning  when 
Amenophis  IV  of  Egypt  came  to  the  throne  in  1375  b.  c.,  for  he 
sent  an  embassy  to  congratulate  him,  and  Mursil  appears  to  have 
reigned  until  after  the  year  1320  b.  c.  The  two  reigns,  therefore, 
covered  more  than  half  a  century.  The  first  years  of  Mursil’s 
reign  were  apparently  passed  in  peace,  but  soon  after  1320  Shal- 
meneser  I  invaded  the  countries  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Hittite 
confederacy,  conquering  all  the  territory  east  of  the  Euphrates,  and  a 
considerable  territory  to  the  west  of  that  river.  Meantime,  Mursil 


80 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


had  renewed  the  treaty  with  the  Amorites  of  Syria,  whose  king 
at  this  time  was  Abbi-Teshub,  or  Abi-Adda.  Ere  long,  however, 
trouble  arose  for  him  on  his  southern  border.  Seti  I  of  Egypt  came 
to  the  throne  in  1313  b.  c.,  and  began  a  series  of  vigorous  campaigns 
for  the  conquest  of  Palestine.  In  time  he  came  face  to  face  with 
the  Hittite  power  in  Syria. 

At  this  juncture  Mursil  died  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
Mutallu,  who  soon  met  Seti  I  in  battle  and  convinced  that  monarch 
that  it  wras  unwise  to  attempt  to  extend  Egypt’s  empire  in  Asia  to 
the  Euphrates,  as  Thothmes  III  had  done.  Owing  to  internal 
troubles  in  Assyria  the  eastern  border  of  the  Hittite  realm  wTas  left 
undisturbed  for  a  considerable  time,  during  which  Mutallu  could 
devote  himself  to  other  matters.  In  1292  b.  c.  Ramses  II  succeeded 
Seti  I  as  king  of  Egypt  and  soon  began  vigorously  to  push  Egyptian 
conquests  into  northern  Syria.  Mutallu  recognized  the  impor¬ 
tance  of  the  struggle  and  collected  a  large  army  from  all  his  allies. 
These  forces  were  drawn  from  all  parts  of  Asia  Minor;  even  the 
countries  of  the  extreme  west  contributed  their  quota.  Aleppo  and 
states  in  that  region  also  contributed  their  share.  A  great  battle 
was  fought  at  Kadesh  on  the  Orontes  in  1287  b.  c.,  in  which  Mutallu, 
by  surprising  his  foe,  disorganized  a  part  of  the  Egyptian  forces 
and  endangered  the  life  of  Ramses  himself.  By  the  opportune 
arrival  of  reinforcements  the  Egyptians  escaped  entire  defeat,  so 
that  the  result  was  a  drawn  battle. 

The  battle  had,  however,  cost  the  Hittites  much.  The  slaughter 
of  their  forces  had  been  enormous.  Among  the  slain  wrere  many 
chieftains,  including  the  king  of  Aleppo.  The  Amorites  at  once 
threw  off  their  allegiance  to  the  Hittites,  and  many  of  the  other 
troops  mutinied.  Mutallu  was  assassinated.  He  wras  succeeded 
by  Hattusil  II,  the  Khetasar  of  the  Egyptian  inscriptions. 

Assyria  had  become  weak,  so  that  Hattusil  was  no  longer  pressed 
upon  his  eastern  border.  After  a  little  he  reduced  the  Amorites 
once  more  to  submission,  and  compelled  them  to  take  back  their 
king,  Put-akhi,  whom  they  had  driven  out  at  the  time  of  their 
rebellion  against  Mutallu.  He  gave  Put-akhi  a  Hittite  princess 
for  a  wife.  Later,  about  1271  b.  c.,  Hattusil  concluded  an  offensive 
and  defensive  alliance  with  Ramses  II  of  Egypt.  The  treaty  which 
guaranteed  this  alliance  has  come  down  to  us,  and  is  the  first  inter¬ 
national  treaty  the  details  of  which  are  known  to  us.  (See  Chapter 
I,  p.  30.) 


THE  HITTITES 


81 


Hattusil  II  must  have  enjoyed  a  long  reign,  but  we  do  not  know 
the  date  of  his  death.  He  had  two  successors,  Dudkhalia  and 
Arnuanta,  whose  reigns  are  known  to  us,  and  who  continued  the 
sway  of  the  dynasty  down  to  about  1200  b.  c.  They  were  respec¬ 
tively  the.  son  and  grandson  of  Hattusil  II.  An  edict  of  Dudkhalia 
concerning  the  vassal  states  has  survived,  in  which  the  name  of 
Eni-Teshub,  King  of  Carchemish,  appears.  Carchemish  would 
seem  to  have  been  the  chief  of  the  allied  states.  Of  Arnuanta  we 
have  no  details,  though  two  fragments  of  royal  edicts  and  a  seal  of 
his  have  come  down  to  us.  He  was  called  “the  great  king,  the  son  of 
Dudkhalia.”  After  him  our  sources  fail,  and  the  story  ends  in 
darkness.  We  know,  however,  that  the  days  of  the  power  of  this 
dynasty  were  over.  Egyptian  sources  tell  us  that  tribes  from  west¬ 
ern  Asia  Minor  and  from  beyond  the  sea  swept  over  Cilicia  and 
northern  Syria  soon  after  the  year  1200  b.  c.,  and  there  was  then 
no  Hittite  power  there  to  restrain  them. 

(5)  Carchemish. — Of  the  other  Hittite  kingdoms  far  less  is  known. 
Carchemish,  which,  as  we  have  just  seen,  played  an  important  part 
in  the  federation  of  the  great  Hittite  power,  continued  its  existence 
for  several  centuries.  In  the  time  of  Ashurnasirpal  II  and  Shal- 
meneser  III  the  kingdom  of  Carchemish  entered  into  alliance  with 
these  kings  and  preserved  its  existence  by  becoming  their  vassal. 
Judging  from  the  meager  reports  hitherto  published  of  the  British 
excavation  at  Carchemish,  this  was  a  flourishing  period  in  the 
history  of  the  city.  A  hundred  years  later,  in  the  reign  of  Sargon, 
Pisiris,  who  was  then  king  of  Carchemish,  defied  the  Assyrian,  who 
brought  the  kingdom  to  an  end  in  717  b.  c.  (Cf.  Isa.  10  :  9.) 

(6)  Samal  and  Yadi. — When  the  Aramaeans  swept  westward 
about  1300  b.  c.  they  apparently  dislodged  the  Hittites  from  a 
number  of  their  sites  and  occupied  their  country.  Among  the 
places  so  occupied  was  the  site  of  Sendjirli  mentioned  above.  All 
the  carvings  found  among  its  architectural  remains  reveal  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  Hittite  art,  but  the  inscriptions  found  there  are  in 
Aramaic.  These  inscriptions  show  that  there  were  in  that  region 
two  petty  kingdoms  named,  respectively,  Samal  and  Yadi.  The 
names  of  several  kings  of  these  monarchies  who  ruled  between  850 
and  730  b.  c.  have  been  recovered.  They  are  all  Aramaean. 

(7)  Hamath. — Farther  to  the  south,  at  Hamath  on  the  Orontes,  a 
Hittite  kingdom  existed  in  the  time  of  David.  Its  king  was  then 
called  Toi  or  Tou,  who  made  an  alliance  with  David  (2  Sam.  8  :  9,  f ; 


82 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


1  Chron.  18  :  9,  f.).  This  kingdom  was  probably  the  outgrowth 
of  the  earlier  occupation  of  the  Orontes  valley,  three  hundred 
years  before,  by  the  Hittites  of  the  great  empire.  It  continued 
until  the  time  of  Ahab.  Its  king  was  then  Irhulina,  who  along  with 
Ahab,  Ben-Hadad  of  Damascus,  and  several  other  kings  made  an 
alliance  to  resist  the  encroachments  of  Shalmaneser  III  of  Assyria 
in  854  b.  c.  (See  Part  II,  p.  360,  ff.)  Irhulina  caused  several  in¬ 
scriptions  to  be  made  on  stone,  which  survived  at  Hamath  until 
our  time.  According  to  Mr.  Thompson’s  interpretation  of  them 
they  are  all  records  of  his  various  alliances.  By  the  next  century, 
however,  the  Aramaeans  had  captured  Hamath,  for  in  the  reigns  of 
Tiglath-pileser  IV  (745-727)  and  of  Sargon  (722-705  b.  c.)  the 
names  of  its  kings  were  Semitic.  These  names  were,  respectively, 
Enu-ilu  and  Yau-bidi,  or  Ilu-bidi. 

We  gain  glimpses  also  of  a  number  of  other  Hittite  states. 
There  was,  for  example,  the  state  of  Kummukh,  which  lay  to  the 
west  of  the  Euphrates,  and  another  in  western  Cilicia,  that  had  its 
center  at  Tyana,  the  modern  Bor.  These,  states  appear  to  have 
reached  their  zenith  after  the  fall  of  the  great  Hittite  dynasty  which 
had  its  capital  at  Boghaz  Koi.  Doubtless  as  time  goes  on  we  shall 
learn  of  the  existence  of  many  other  small  Hittite  kingdoms  which 
flourished  at  one  time  or  another.  At  some  time,  either  when  the 
Hyksos  were  making  their  way  into  Egypt  or  when  Subbiluliuma 
was  pushing  southward  into  Syria,  the  Hittites  mentioned  in  the 
Old  Testament  must  have  made  some  small  settlements  in  Pales¬ 
tine.  Here  the  Hebrews  came  into  contact  with  them.  They 
were  really  an  unimportant  outlying  fringe  of  the  great  Hittite 
people,  but  they  had  the  good  fortune  to  have  their  names  preserved 
in  the  most  immortal  literature  in  the  world,  the  Bible,  and  so  their 
memory  was  ever  kept  alive,  while  that  of  their  more  illustrious 
kinsmen  was  utterly  forgotten.  It  is  only  archaeological  research 
that  has  restored  something  of  the  original  perspective. 


CHAPTER  IV 


PALESTINE  AND  ITS  EXPLORATION 

The  Land:  Rainfall.  Early  Exploration:  Place  names.  Early  American 
Explorations:  Robinson  and  Smith.  Lynch.  American  exploration  societies. 
Palestine  Exploration  Fund:  Warren’s  excavations  at  Jerusalem.  The- survey  of 
Palestine.  Exploration  of  Lachish.  Bliss’s  excavation  at  Jerusalem..  Excavation 
at  Azekah.  At  Tell  es-Safi  (Gath?).  Tell  el-Judeideh.  At  Marash  (Moresheth- 
Gath).  Gezer.  Beth-shemesh.  Exploring  the  Wilderness  of  Zin.  The  German 
Palestine  Society:  Guthe’s  excavation  at  Jerusalem.  Megiddo.  Taanach. 
Capernaum.  Jericho.  The  American  School  at  Jerusalem.  Samaria.  Par¬ 
ker’s  Excavations  at  Jerusalem.  Latest  Excavations. 

1.  The  Land. — Palestine  is  a  very  different  land  from  either 
Egypt  or  Mesopotamia.  They  are  made  by  the  irrigation  of 
rivers.  Palestine  is  fertilized  by  rain  from  heaven.  In  them 
the  scenery  is  monotonous;  they  are  river  valleys  each  of  which 
was  once  in  part  an  arm  of  the  sea,  but  now  filled  up  by  the  gradual 
deposit  of  mud.  Palestine  was  formed  in  one  of  the  greatest  geo¬ 
logical  upheavals  the  earth  ever  experienced.  This  was  nothing 
less  than  a  great  rift  in  the  earth’s  crust  extending  from  the  Lebanon 
mountains  to  the  Indian  Ocean.  The  strata  on  the  west  side  of  this 
rift  slipped  downward  past  those  on  its  east  side  for  a  mile  or  more. 
Those  on  the  west  were  bent  at  differ'ent  points  in  this  long  course 
in  different  ways,  but  the  result  of  the  rift  itself  was  to  form  the 
Jordan  valley  and  the  bed  of  the  Dead  Sea,  the  valley  which  runs 
from  the  Dead  Sea  to  the  Gulf  of  Akaba,  and  that  deep  rift  be¬ 
tween  Asia  and  Africa  which  forms  the  Red  Sea  itself. 

In  Palestine  the  strata  on  the  west  of  this  rift  bent  up  into-  two 
parallel  ridges,  to  the  wTest  of  which  a  narrow  plain  of  varying 
width,  ancient  Philistia,  rises  from  the  sea.  To  the  east  of  this 
rift  the  land  remained  at  approximately  its  old  level.  The  various 
ridges  of  the  country  are,  on  account  of  the  birth-pangs  of  their 
origin,  intersected  with  valleys  innumerable,  so  that  in  no  country 
of  the  world  can  such  variety  of  scenery  and  climate  be  found  within 
such  narrow  limits. 

Rainfall. — This  land,  with  all  its  variety  of  form,  is  redeemed 
from  the  desert  by  the  moisture  which  the  west  winds  drive  in 

83 


84 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


from  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  These  winds  in  the  winter  months 
bring  clouds,  which,  when  they  come  into  contact  with  the  colder 
air  over  the  elevated  hills,  deposit  their  moisture  in  rain.  The 
Jordan  valley  is  so  warm  that  little  rain  falls  upon  it,  but  it  drains 
the  water  from  the  rainfall  on  both  sides  of  it.  Just  so  far  back 
as  the  clouds  reach  before  their  moisture  is  exhausted,  just  so  far 
the  fertile  land  extends;  beyond  that  is  the  Arabian  Desert.  When 
the  rainfall  during  a  winter  is  good,  bountiful  crops  are  raised  the 
following  season;  when  it  is  scant,  the  harvest  fails  and  famine 
follows.  In  Egypt  and  Babylonia  a  man  could  water  his  garden 
by  kicking  a  hole  in  a  dyke;  they  were  lands  which  were  watered 
“with  thy  foot”  (Deut.  11  :  10) ;  Palestine  was  dependent  on  heaven 
for  its  life,  and  we  cannot  doubt  that  this  fact  was  one  of  the 
instruments  for  the  training  of  the  Israelites  for  their  great  religious 
mission.  In  a  land  of  such  variety — a  land  in  which  for  nine  months 
in  the  year  snow-capped  Hermon  may  be  seen  from  many  an  ele¬ 
vated  point  and  from  the  whole  stretch  of  the  tropical  Jordan  valley, 
where  oleanders  are  blooming  and  mustard  seeds  are  growing  into 
trees — it  was  possible  to  think  of  God  in  a  way  that  was  at  least 
more  difficult  in  Egypt  or  in  Mesopotamia. 

Here  in  this  marvelous  land,  which  formed  a  bridge  between 
the  two  oldest  civilizations  of  the  world,  the  men  lived  to  whom 
God  committed  the  task  of  writing  most  of  the  Bible.  This  was 
the  earthly  home  of  the  Son  of  God. 

Even  before  the  Hebrews  came  into  it,  many  had  crossed  this 
bridge  and  some  had  paused  long  upon  it.  Living  here  they  had 
left  the  remains  of  their  homes,  their  cities,  and  their  civilizations. 
Archaeology  is  now  recovering  these.  After  the  time  of  Christ 
various  races  and  civilizations  continued  to  pass  over  the  bridge. 
Their  remains  buried  those  left  by  earlier  men.  The  story  of  the 
recovery  of  these  earlier  remains  is,  accordingly,  not  only  of  great 
interest,  but  often  of  great  value  to  the  reader  of  the  Bible. 

2.  Early  Exploration. — The  misfortunes  which  overtook  Judaea 
in  the  years  70  and  132-135  a.  d.,  in  consequence  of  the  Jewish 
rebellions  against  Rome,  led  to  the  paganizing  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
expulsion  of  the  Jews  from  Judaea.  At  this  period  Christianity  was 
a  struggling  and  a  persecuted  religion,  too  busy  working  its  way 
to  take  an  active  interest  in  the  land  of  its  birth.  When  Constan¬ 
tine  early  in  the  fourth  century  made  Christianity  the  religion  of 
the  Roman  Empire,  all  this  was  changed.  Both  Constantine  and 


PALESTINE  AND  ITS  EXPLORATION 


85 


his  mother,  Helena,  took  the  deepest  interest  in  identifying  the  holy 
places  in  Jerusalem,  and  a  stream  of  pilgrims  began  at  once  to  visit 
the  land.  The  earliest  of  these  to  leave  us  an  account  of  his 
travels  was  a  pilgrim  from  Bordeaux  who  visited  Palestine  in  333 
A.  d.  As  he  was  anxious  to  see  the  principal  places  hallowed  by  the 
bodily  presence  of  Christ  and  the  heroes  of  Scripture,  he  visited 
places  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  He  was  followed  by  many 
others.  The  stream  has  been  almost  continuous  down  to  the 
present  time.  As  the  aim  of  these  travelers  was  devotional  and 
they  possessed  little  scholarly  training  or  critical  faculty,  their 
works  are  of  secondary  value  to  the  modern  student.  They  did, 
however,  prevent  that  loss  of  knowledge  of  the  country  to  which 
Babylonia  was  subjected  for  so  many  centuries. 

Place  Names. — At  the  very  beginning  of  this  period  Eusebius  of 
Caesarea,  a  contemporary  of  Constantine,  compiled  a  list  of  the 
place  names  of  Palestine  which  are  mentioned  in  the  Bible.  The 
names  were  arranged  in  alphabetical  order,  the  events  for  which  the 
places  are  celebrated  were  given,  in  many  instances  identifications 
with  places  existing  in  the  fourth  century  were  proposed,  and  the 
distances  from  other  well-known  places  mentioned.  In  the  next 
century  this  work  was  translated  into  Latin  by  Jerome,  who  lived 
many  years  at  Bethlehem  and  traveled  extensively  in  Palestine, 
and  who  died  in  420  a.  d.  It  is  called  the  Onomasticon. 

3.  Early  American  Explorations.— -As  the  reader  approaches  mod¬ 
ern  times  he  finds  the  works  of  some  of  the  pilgrims  assuming  a  more 
scientific  character.  To  some  extent,  too,  these  works  were  sup¬ 
plemented  by  those  of  travelers  like  Chateaubriand,1  Burckhardt,2 
and  Lamartine.3 

(1)  Robinson  and  Smith. — The  scientific  study  of  the  localities 
and  antiquities  of  Palestine  was,  however,  begun  by  an  American, 
the  late  Prof.  Edward  Robinson,  of  Union  Seminary,  New  York. 
Robinson  was  fully  equipped  with  Biblical  knowledge,  and  was 
thoroughly  familiar  with  Josephus  and  other  works  bearing  on  his 
subject.  He  possessed  the  critical  faculty  in  a  high  degree,  and 
combined  with  it  a  keen  constructive  faculty.  In  1838  and  again 
in  1852  he  traveled  through  Palestine  with  Eli  Smith,  a  missionary. 
They  were  equipped  with  compass,  telescope,  thermometer,  and 

1 1  liner  air  e  de  Paris  a  Jerusalem,  Paris,  1811. 

2  Travels  in  Syria,  1821. 

3  Souvenirs,  impressions,  et  paysages,  pendant  un  voyage  en  Orient,  Paris,  1835. 


86 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


measuring  tape.  His  knowledge  of  history  enabled  Robinson  to 
look  beneath  many  traditions.  With  keen  penetration  he  discerned 
under  the  guise  of  many  a  modern  Arabic  name  the  form  of  a 
Biblical  original,  and  accomplished  more  for  the  scientific  study  of 
Biblical  Palestine  than  any  of  his  predecessors.  As  he  traveled 
he  also  noted  and  briefly  described  such  remains  of  antiquity  as 
could  be  seen  above  ground.  The  results  of  Robinson’s  first  jour¬ 
ney  were  embodied  in  his  Biblical  Researches ,  New  York,  1841. 
In  the  second  edition,  London,  1856,  the  results  of  the  second 
journey  were  embodied,  and  the  number  of  volumes  increased  to 
three.  The  impetus  given  to  the  exploration  of  Palestine  by  the 
labors  of  Robinson  was  continued  by  Tobler,  Guerin,  Renan,  and 
many  others.1 

(2)  Lynch. — Meantime,  another  American,  Lieut.  W.  F.  Lynch, 
of  the  United  States  Navy,  rendered  an  important  service  by  the 
exploration  in  1848  of  the  Dead  Sea.  In  April  and  May  of  that 
year  about  three  weeks  were  spent  in  exploring  that  body  of 
water.  Lieut.  Lynch  was  accompanied  by  Dr.  Anderson,  a  geolo¬ 
gist.  The  party  traversed  the  sea  back  and  forth  in  two  metal 
boats  that  had  been  launched  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee  and  floated 
down  the  Jordan.  The  fact  that  the  Jordan  valley  is  lower  than 
the  level  of  the  sea  had  never  been  recognized  until  1837,  and, 
until  the  visit  of  Lynch  and  Anderson,  the  depth  of  the  depression 
was  only  a  matter  of  conjecture.  By  this  expedition  it  was  scien¬ 
tifically  determined  that  the  surface  of  the  Dead  Sea  is  1,300  feet 
lower  than  that  of  the  Mediterranean.2 

(3)  American  Exploration  Societies. — The  work  of  American 
exploration  was  later  continued  by  the  American  Exploration 
Society,  founded  in  1870.  Under  its  auspices,  Rev.  John  A.  Paine, 
of  Tarrytown,  New  York,  visited  the  Holy  Land.  One  of  the 
results  of  his  visit  was  the  identification  of  Pisgah.3 

Later  an  American  Palestine  Exploration  Society  was  organized. 
This  Society  employed  Mr.  Rudolph  Meyer,  an  engineer,  to  make  a 
map  of  Palestine,  and  from  1875  to  1877  also  employed  Rev.  Selah 
Merrill,  who  afterward  was  for  many  years  the  U.  S.  Consul  at 


1  For  a  more  complete  account  see  F.  J.  Bliss,  The  Development  of  Palestine  Exploration,  New 
York,  1906. 

2  See  Official  Report  of  the  United  States  Expedition  to  Explore  the  Dead  Sea  and  the  River  Jordan, 
Baltimore,  1852. 

3  See  his  “Identification  of  Pisgah”  in  the  third  Statement  of  the  American  Exploration  Society, 
1870. 


PALESTINE  AND  ITS  EXPLORATION 


87 


Jerusalem,  as  explorer.  Dr.  Merrill  gathered  much  archaeological 
information,  especially  in  the  country  east  of  the  Jordan.1 

4.  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. — As  a  result  of  the  interest 
engendered  by  the  work  of  Robinson,  Lynch,  and  others,  the 
Palestine  Exploration  Fund  was  organized  in  London  in  1865.  By 
this  act  a  permanent  body  was  created  to  foster  continuously  the 
exploration  of  the  Holy  Land,  and  to  rescue  the  work  from  the  fitful 
activities  of  individual  enterprise.  Such  enterprise  could  supple¬ 
ment  the  work  of  the  Fund,  but  could  no  longer  hope  to  compete 
with  it. 

Within  six  months  from  the  organization  of  the  Palestine  Explora¬ 
tion  Fund  its  first  expedition  was  sent  out.  This  was  led  by  Capt., 
now  Gen.  Sir  Charles  Warren,  who  had  just  completed  a  survey  of 
Jerusalem  as  part  of  a  plan  for  bringing  water  into  the  city.  The 
chief  object  of  this  expedition,  which  was  in  the  field  from  December, 
1865,  to  May,  1866,  was  to  indicate  spots  for  future  excavation. 
It  made  a  series  of  sketch  maps  of  the  country  on  the  scale  of  one 
inch  to  the  mile,  studied  some  synagogues  in  Galilee  noted  by  Rob¬ 
inson,  but  not  fully  described  by  him,  and  laid  bare  on  Mount 
Gerizim  the  remains  of  a  church  built  on  a  rough  platform  which 
may  once  have  supported  the  Samaritan  temple. 

(1)  Warren’s  Excavations  at  Jerusalem. — A  second  expedition 
under  Lieut. -Col.,  now  Sir  Charles  Warren,  made  considerable 
excavations  on  the  temple-hill  at  Jerusalem.  He  sank  a  remark¬ 
able  series  of  shafts  to  the  bottom  of  the  walls  enclosing  the  temple 
area,  and  proved  that  in  places  these  walls  rest  on  foundations  from 
80  to  125  feet  below  the  present  surface.  He  laid  bare  solid 
masonry,  which  bore  what  are  apparently  Phoenician  quarry-marks 
and  which  he  believed  to  go  back  to  the  time  of  Solomon.  On 
the  west  side  of  the  temple  enclosure  he  found  80  feet  below  the 
present  surface  the  ruins  of  a  bridge,  which  Robinson  had  conjec¬ 
tured  crossed  the  Tyropoeon  Valley  from  the  temple  enclosure  at 
this  point  from  an  arch,  the  base  of  which  is  still  visible  outside  of 
the  temple  wall.2  Among  many  other  discoveries  made  by  Warren 
were  a  part  of  the  ancient  city  wall  south  of  the  temple  area  and  an 
underground  passage  leading  up  from  the  ancient  spring  of  Gihon, 

1  See  his  East  of  the  Jordan ,  New  York,  1883. 

2  Warren’s  results  were  first  published  in  The  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,  London,  1870,  and  more 
fully  in  Jerusalem,  London,  1889,  one  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund.  The 
arch  mentioned  is  called  “Robinson’s  Arch,”  because  its  significance  was  first  perceived  by 
Robinson. 


88 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


which  was  probably  the  “gutter”  (R.  V.,  “watercourse”)  of  2  Sam. 
5  :  8. 

(2)  The  Survey  of  Palestine. — After  this  the  Palestine  Explora¬ 
tion  Fund  undertook  a  survey  of  Palestine,  the  object  of  which  was 
to  make  a  complete  and  authoritative  map  of  the  country  on  the 
scale  of  one  inch  to  a  mile,  and  also  a  description  of  all  archaeological 
remains  of  antiquity  which  were  above  ground.  The  work  was 
undertaken  in  1871  and  the  survey  of  western  Palestine  was  com¬ 
pleted  in  1878.  Owing  to  an  outbreak  of  cholera,  the  work  was 
interrupted  from  1874  to  1877.  Among  those  who  took  part  in  it 
were  Capt.  C.  R.  Conder  (now  Lieut.-Col.),  who  was  in  charge  of 
the  work  from  1872  to  1874,  and  Capt.  Kitchener  (now  Lord 
Kitchener).  The  great  map  was  published  in  1880,  and  covers  an 
area  of  6,000  square  miles,  from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  Jordan 
and  from  the  Egyptian  desert  to  a  point  near  Tyre.  The  comple¬ 
tion  of  this  map  was  a  monumental  accomplishment,  and  must  form 
the  basis  for  all  similar  work.  The  archaeological  remains  noted  on 
the  map  are  described  in  three  volumes  of  Memoirs,  also  published 
by  the  Exploration  Fund. 

In  1881  Capt.  Conder  was  sent  out  to  make  a  similar  survey  of 
the  country  east  of  the  Jordan.  He  endeavored  to  work  under  the 
old  permit  from  the  Turkish  government,  but  to  this  the  Turks 
objected.  After  working  for  ten  weeks,  during  which  he  surveyed 
about  500  square  miles  of  territory,  he  was  compelled  to  desist. 
The  results  of  his  work,  however,  fill  a  stout  volume  entitled 
The  Survey  of  Eastern  Palestine,  London,  1889.  The  work  under¬ 
taken  by  Conder  has  since  been  carried  on  by  other  agencies.  Dr. 
Gottlieb  Schumacher,  an  engineer  residing  at  Haifa,  who  was  em¬ 
ployed  in  surveying  the  railway  to  Mecca,  has  published  authori¬ 
tative  volumes  on  the  region  to  the  east  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee.1  On 
a  larger  scale  is  the  work  of  Briinnow  and  Domaszewsky  on  the 
Roman  province  of  Arabia,2  a  work  which  includes  ancient  Edom 
as  far  as  Petra.  The  last-mentioned  remarkable  city  has  been 
described  also  in  two  excellent  volumes  by  Gustaf  H.  Dalman, 
Director  of  the  German  Evangelical  Institute  in  Jerusalem.3 

In  1873-1874  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  entrusted  an  archae¬ 
ological  mission  of  a  general  nature  to  the  French  scholar,  Clermont- 

1  Across  the  Jordan,  London,  1886;  Jaulan,  London,  1886,  and  Abila,  Pella,  and  Northern  Aijlun, 
London, 1889. 

2  Die  Provincia  Arabia,  Strassburg,  1904-1909  (3  volumes). 

3  Petra,  Leipzig,  1908,  and  Neu-Petra  Forschung,  Leipzig,  1912. 


PALESTINE  AND  ITS  EXPLORATION 


89 


Ganneau,  who  several  years  before  had  been  French  Consul  at 
Jerusalem.  Clermont-Ganneau  was  embarrassed  by  the  failure  of 
the  Turkish  government  to  grant  him  a  firman,  but  made  numerous 
archaeological  discoveries  in  the  country  between  Jaffa  and  Jeru¬ 
salem.  These  were  published  by  the  Fund  in  two  large  volumes,1 
although  they  did  not  appear  until  1896  and  1899,  respectively. 

In  the  wdnter  of  1883-1884,  a  complete  geological  survey  was 
made  of  the  valley  of  the  Dead  Sea  and  the  region  to  the  south 
(Wady  el-Arabah)  by  Prof.  Edward  Hull,  who  afterward  published 
a  volume  on  the  subject.2  Hull  was  accompanied  by  Major 
Kitchener,  who  made  a  complete  triangulation  of  the  district  lying 
between  Mount  Sinai  and  the  Wady  el-Arabah. 

(3)  Exploration  of  Lachish. — In  1890  the  Exploration  Fund 
entered  upon  a  new  phase,  of  wxork  or,  rather,  resumed  one  that  had 
been  interrupted  for  twenty  years, — that  of  excavation.  The 
services  of  Prof.  Petrie,  the  Egyptian  explorer,  were  secured  and 
the  attempt  to  wrest  from  the  soil  of  Palestine  some  of  the  buried 
secrets  of  the  past  was  renewed.  The  site  chosen  was  Tell  el-Hesy, 
where  stood  in  ancient  times  the  city  of  Lachish  (Josh.  10:3; 
2  Kings  14  :  19;  18  :  14,  etc.).  This  mound  rose  about  120  feet 
above  the  bed  of  an  intermittent  stream.  About  60  feet  of  this 
height  consisted  of  accumulated  debris  of  the  ancient  city.  The 
water  in  the  course  of  centuries  had  so  exposed  some  of  the  pot¬ 
sherds  that  Petrie  was  confident  before  he  began  digging  that  rich 
discoveries  awaited  him.  He  worked  here  only  about  six  weeks, 
running  trenches  into  different  parts  of  the  mound,  but  he  found 
and  classified  such  a  variety  of  pottery  that  he  felt  confident  that  he 
had  unearthed  a  city  wdiich  had  been  occupied  from  a  time  anterior 
to  the  Hebrew  conquest  of  Canaan  down  to  about  350  b.  c.3 

In  1892  the  work  was  continued  under  the  direction  of  Dr. 
Frederick  J.  Bliss,  who  cut  away  a  considerable  section  from  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  mound,  and  found  the  stratified  remains 
of  eight  different  cities,  one  above  the  other.4  In  the  third 
of  these  cities  from  the  bottom  a  cuneiform  tablet  was  found, 
which  mentions  one  of  the  men  who  figure  in  the  letters  found  at 
Tell  el-Amarna  in  Egypt.  This  tablet  would  indicate  that  this 
third  city  was  flourishing  during  the  period  1400-1350  b.  c. 

1  Archceological  Researches  in  Palestine ,  London,  1896-1899. 

2  Geology  of  Palestine  and  Arabia  Petrcea,  London,  1886. 

s  See  Petrie,  Tell  el-Hesy  {Lachish),  London,  1891. 

4  See  his  Mound  of  Many  Cities,  London.  1894. 


90 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


The  two  cities  below  this  must,  accordingly,  belong  to  an  earlier 
period.  Bliss  supposed  that  the  first  city  was  built  about  1700  b.  c. 
Above  the  remains  of  the  third  city  was  a  bed  of  ashes  of  some 
thickness,  which  shows,  in  Petrie’s  opinion,  that  after  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  this  city  the  mound  was  used  for  a  period  of  perhaps  fifty 
years  as  a  place  for  burning  alkali.  Near  the  top  of  the  debris  of 
the  fourth  city  a  glazed  seal  was  found  similar  to  those  made  in 
Egypt  in  the  time  of  the  twenty-second  dynasty  (945-745  b.  c.). 
This  city,  then,  belonged  to  the  early  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah. 
In  the  seventh  and  eighth  cities  pottery  of  polished  red  and  black 
types  was  found.  This  class  of  pottery  is  of  Greek  origin,  dating 
from  550-350  b.  c.  These  occupations  of  the  mound  must,  then, 
be  of  that  period.  The  fifth  and  sixth  cities  would,  accordingly, 
fall  between  750  and  550  b.  c.  This  excavation  thus  shows  how 
the  stratification  of  the  mounds  of  Palestine  reveals  the  march  of 
the  peoples  across  the  country;  (see  Fig.  28). 

(4)  Bliss's  Excavation  at  Jerusalem. — From  1894  to  1897  Dr. 
Bliss  was  engaged  in  excavations  at  Jerusalem.1  Here  he  devoted 
his  attention  to  an  endeavor  to  recover  the  line  of  the  ancient  wall 
on  the  south  side  of  the  city.  This  he  did,  following  it  from 
“Maudsley’s  Scarp”2  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the  westernmost  of 
the  two  hills  on  which  Jerusalem  is  situated  across  the  slope  to  the 
eastward  and  then  across  the  Tyropceon  Valley.  This  was  the  wall 
rebuilt  by  Nehemiah  on  lines  then  already  old  (Neh.  3-6).  It  was 
destroyed  by  Titus  in  the  year  70  a.  d.,  and  afterward  rebuilt  by 
the  Empress  Eudoxia  in  the  fifth  century  A.  d. 

(5)  Excavation  at  Azekah. — From  1898  to  1900  Dr.  Bliss  ex¬ 
cavated  for  the  Fund  at  several  sites  in  the  Biblical  Shephelah,3 
the  low  hills  which  formed  the  border-land  between  ancient  Judaea 
and  Philistia.  The  work  began  at  Tell  Zakariya,  the  Biblical 
Azekah,  situated  above  the  lower  part  of  the  Vale  of  Elah.  Azekah 
was  fortified  by  King  Rehoboam  (2  Chron.  11  :  5-10).  Here  an 
important  citadel  or  fortress  was  uncovered.  While  the  masonry 
of  the  top  part  was  similar  to  that  of  Herodian  buildings  at  Jeru¬ 
salem,  the  pottery  found  about  the  foundations  indicated  that  the 
beginnings  of  the  structure  go  back  to  early  Israelitish  times.  It 
may  well  be  one  of  Jeroboam’s  fortresses.  Underneath  it  were 

1  See  Bliss,  Excavations  at  Jerusalem,  London,  1898. 

2  An  artificially  made  precipice  on  which  a  fortress  once  stood.  It  is  named  from  an  English¬ 
man,  Maudsley,  who  first  perceived  its  true  nature. 

3  Bliss  and  Macalister,  Excavations  in  Palestine  during  the  Years  i8q8-iqoo,  London,  1902. 


PALESTINE  AND  ITS  EXPLORATION 


91 


remains  from  late  pre-Israelitish  times.  It  appears  that  the  hill 
was  occupied  as  the  site  of  a  city  only  shortly  before  the  Hebrew 
conquest.  The  fortress  was  not,  however,  built  at  the  time  of  this 
earliest  occupation. 

(6)  At  Tell  es-Safi  (path?). — Next  the  excavation  was  trans¬ 
ferred  to  Tell  es-Safi,  which  was  situated  on  the  south  side  of  the 
ancient  Vale  of  Elah  at  the  point  where  it  sweeps  into  the  Philistine 
plain,  and  which  was  thought  to  be  the  site  of  the  Biblical  Gath 
(Josh.  11  :  22;  1  Sam.  5  :  8;  17  :  4;  2  Kings  12  :  17).  Here  in  1144 
A.  d.  the  Latin  Kingdom  of  Jerusalem  established  by  the  Crusaders 
built  a  fortress,  which  they  called  Blanche-Garde,  as  an  outpost 
against  Ashkelon.  It  was  hoped  that  the  excavation  of  Dr.  Bliss 
would  determine  whether  or  not  this  was  really  the  site  of  Gath,  but 
owing  to  the  occupation  of  the  tell  by  a  Mohammedan  cemetery 
and  a  wely,  or  sacred  building,  this  was  not  possible.  The  outline 
of  the  city  wralls  was,  however,  traced,  the  foundations  of  Blanche- 
Garde  examined,  and  here  and  there  trenches  were  sunk  to  the 
rock.  These  trenches  revealed  in  the  various  strata  pottery 
and  objects,  first,  of  the  the  period  of  the  Crusaders;  secondly, 
of  the  Seleucid  period  (312-65  b.  c.);  thirdly,  of  the  Jewish  period, 
700-350  b.  c.,  and  two  pre-Israelite  strata.  The  mound  had,  then, 
been  occupied  from  about  1700  b.  c.  to  the  Seleucid  times,  and 
again  in  the  period  of  the  Latin  Kingdom  of  Jerusalem. 

The  most  interesting  discovery  at  Tell  es-Safi  was  that  of  an  old 
pre-Israelitish  high  place,  which  contained  three  pillars  such  as  are 
denounced  in  Deuteronomy.  (See  Deut.  7:5;  12  :  3,  etc.)  At 
the  time  of  this  discovery  no  similar  discovery  had  been  made. 
The  foundations  of  this  high  place  were  near  the  bottom  of  the  last 
pre-Israelite  stratum,  so  that  it  was  clearly  constructed  by  the 
Amorites,  or  Canaanites,  or  whoever  occupied  this  city  before  the 
Hebrews  arrived. 

(7)  Tell  el-J udeideh. — The  excavations  next  moved  to  Tell  el- 
Judeideh,  a  mound  some  distance  to  the  south  of  Tell  Zakariya. 
Here  they  traced  the  outlines  of  the  city  wall,  found  the  remains 
of  a  Roman  villa,  and  sunk  a  number  of  shafts  to  the  rock.  From 
the  pottery  found  in  these  shafts  they  inferred  that  the  mound  had 
been  occupied  in  the  earliest  period,  but  deserted  for  a  consider¬ 
able  time  before  the  Hebrew  conquest.  It  was  then  reoccupied  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  Judaean  monarchy,  and  was  finally  fortified 
in  the  Seleucid  or  Roman  period.  It  seems  to  have  been  deserted 


92 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


soon  after  the  Roman  period.  It  is  not  known  what  was  the  ancient 
name  of  the  city  that  stood  there. 

(8)  At  Mar  ash  ( Moresheth-Gath ). — The  last  mound  excavated  in 
this  region  was  Tell  Sandahanna,  situated  a  mile  to  the  south  of 
Beit  Jibrin.  The  mound  takes  its  name  from  a  church  of  St.  Anne, 
the  ruins  of  which  may  still  be  seen  near  by.  It  occupies  the  site 
of  the  city  of  Marissa  of  the  Seleucid  period,  and  of  the  older 
Jewish  Marash.  It  is  probably  the  site  of  Moresheth-Gath,  the 
home  of  the  prophet  Micah.  (See  Micah  1  :  14.)  Here  con¬ 
siderable  portions  of  the  Seleucid  stratum  of  the  mound  were 
excavated,  and  a  smaller  portion  of  the  Jewish  stratum.  The 
Jewish  stratum  rested  directly  on  the  rock;  the  site  seems,  there¬ 
fore,  not  to  have  been  inhabited  in  pre-Israelite  times. 

(9)  Gezer. — The  next  undertaking  of  the  Palestine  Exploration 
Fund  was  the  excavation  of  Gezer.  This  work  was  entrusted  to  the 
direction  of  R.  A.  Stewart  Macalister,  who  had  been  Dr.  Bliss’s 
assistant  from  1898  to  1900  and  who  is  now  Professor  of  Celtic  in 
the  University  of  Dublin.  Work  was  begun  on  Tell  el-Jazar, 
about  six  miles  southeast  of  the  town  of  Ramleh,  which  Clermont 
Ganneau1  had,  in  June,  1902,  identified  as  the  site  of  Gezer. 
(Josh.  10  :  33;  Judges  1  :  27;  2  Sam.  5  :  25.)  It  continued,  with 
such  interruptions  as  winter  weather  and  an  outbreak  of  cholera 
made  necessary,  until  August,  1905.  It  was  renewed  in  the  spring 
of  1907  and  carried  on  until  early  in  1909.  During  this  time  more 
than  half  of  the  mound  was  excavated.  No  other  mound  in  Pales¬ 
tine  has  been  so  fully  explored.  Naturally,  therefore,  Gezer  has 
furnished  us  with  more  archaeological  information  than  any  other 
excavation;  (see  Fig.  30). 

The  results  of  this  excavation  convinced  Mr.  Macalister  that  the 
classification  of  the  strata  adopted  by  the  excavators  of  Lachish 
and  the  mounds  of  the  Shephelah  was  capable  of  improvement. 
He  found  that  Gezer  had  been  occupied  at  first  by  a  non-Semitic 
people,  remains  of  whose  bones  indicate  that  they  were  about 
5  feet  6  inches  high,  who  lived  in  caves,  and  whose  implements  were 
wholly  of  stone.  He  estimated  that  these  people  probably  occupied 
the  site  from  about  3000  to  2500  b.  c.  About  2500  b.  c.  a  Semitic 
race,  probably  Amorite,  took  possession  of  the  city  and  occupied  it 
to  the  end  of  the  Hebrew  monarchy. 

Four  periods  could  be  traced  in  the  Semitic  occupation,  each 

1  See  bis  Archeological  Researches  in  Palestine,  II,  p.  251,  f. 


PALESTINE  AND  ITS  EXPLORATION 


93 


represented  by  differences  in  walls,  implements,  and  objects  used. 
The  first  Semitic  period  ended  with  the  fall  of  the  twelfth  Egyptian 
dynasty,  about  1800  b.  c.  In  this  stratum  scarabs  of  the  period  of 
the  Egyptian  “middle  kingdom”  were  found.  The  second  Semitic 
stratum  continued  until  about  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  Egyp¬ 
tian  dynasty,  about  1350  b.  c.  The  third  Semitic  stratum  lasted 
till  the  establishment  of  the  Hebrew  monarchy,  about  1000  b.  c.; 
the  fourth  was  contemporaneous  with  the  Hebrew  kingdoms,  1000- 
586  b.  c.  The  mound  was  again  occupied  in  the  Hellenistic  or 
Maccabasan  period.1  After  the  Maccabaean  turmoils  the  inhabit¬ 
ants  seem  to  have  deserted  the  tell.  Under  the  modern  village 
of  Abu  Shusheh,  on  the  southwest  slope  of  the  mound,  a  Roman 
mosaic  has  been  found,  but  nothing  from  Roman  times  was  dis¬ 
covered  on  the  mound  itself.  There  were  likewise  no  remains  from 
the  period  of  the  Crusaders. 

In  the  course  of  this  excavation  many  important  discoveries 
were  made.  Many  of  these  will  be  mentioned  in  subsequent  chap¬ 
ters.  We  need  only  mention  here  an  old  Semitic  high  place,  which 
had  its  beginnings  in  the  first  Semitic  stratum  before  1800  b.  c., 
and  was  used  down  to  the  end  of  the  fourth  Semitic  or  Hebrew 
stratum,  about  600  b.  c.  It  began  with  two  “pillars,”  but  others 
were  added  as  time  passed  until  there  were  ten  in  all.2  In  the  third 
Semitic  stratum  (i.  e.,  the  one  preceding  the  Hebrew  occupation)  a 
building  was  found  which  Mr.  Macalister  thought  might  have  been 
a  temple.  In  the  middle  of  its  largest  hall  were  some  stones  which 
looked  as  though  they  might  have  supported  wooden  pillars,  which, 
in  turn,  probably  supported  the  roof.  Mr.  Macalister  thought  this 
was  a  structure  similar  to  that  which  Samson  pulled  down  at  Gaza3 
(Judges  16  :  23-30). 

One  of  the  most  important  discoveries  was  a  rock-cut  tunnel 
leading  down  through  the  heart  of  the  rock  to  a  spring  in  a  cave  94 
feet  below  the  surface  of  the  rock  and  120  feet  below  the  level 
of  the  present  surface  of  the  ground.4  This  was  to  enable  the 
people  of  the  city  to  obtain  water  in  time  of  siege.  It  was  used  for 
some  500  years  and  was  apparently  closed  up  about  1300-1200  b.  c. 
Its  beginnings  go  back  accordingly  to  the  first  Semitic  period.  A 

1  This  is  the  period  called  by  Petrie  and  Bliss  “  Seleucid.” 

2  See  Macalister,  The  Excavation  of  Gezvr,  London,  1912,  II,  381-403. 

» Ibid.,  406-408. 

*  Ibid.,  I,  256-268. 


94 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


palace  of  the  Maccabaean  time,  apparently  built  by  Simon  the 
Maccabee,  143-135  b.  c.,  was  also  discovered.1  (Cf.  1  Macc.  14:34.) 

Various  walls  were  discovered,  which  at  different  times  encircled 
the  city.  The  most  massive  of  these  was  apparently  constructed 
during  the  eighteenth  Egyptian  dynasty,  and  continued  to  be  the 
city  wall  down  to  the  Babylonian  Exile.  At  some  time  after  its 
construction  towers  had  been  inserted  in  the  wall.  These  towers 
were  shown  to  be  a  later  insertion  by  the  fact  that  their  stones 
touched  the  stones  of  the  wall  on  each  side,  but  were  not  inter¬ 
locked  with  them.  Mr.  Macalister  thinks  that  these  towers  may 
have  been  inserted  by  Solomon  when  he  fortified  the  city  (1  Kings 
9  :  15-19).  At  some  later  time  the  weakness  of  such  a  tower  had 
become  apparent,  and  a  bastion  had  been  built  around  it.2  The 
excavation  at  Gezer  was  fruitful  in  many  directions.  Other  aspects 
of  it  will  be  taken  up  in  future  chapters  in  connection  with  other 
topics. 

(10)  Beth-shemesh. — The  next  task  undertaken  by  the  Pales¬ 
tine  Exploration  Fund  was  the  exploration  of  Ain  Shems,  the 
Biblical  Beth-shemesh.  (See  Josh.  15  :  10;  2  Kings  14  :  8-14,  etc.) 
Ain  Shems,  like  Gezer,  is  situated  in  what  was  in  Biblical  times  the 
Shephelah.  It  is  near  the  station  of  Der  Aban  on  the  railway 
from  Jaffa  to  Jerusalem.  Excavations  were  carried  on  at  this 
point  in  1911  and  1912  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Duncan  Mac¬ 
kenzie,  who  had  had  ten  years’  experience  on  the  staff  of  Sir  Arthur 
Evans,  the  explorer  of  Crete.  At  the  bottom  of  the  mound  the 
remains  of  a  very  early  settlement  were  discovered.3  Above  this 
the  ruins  of  a  once  prosperous  city,  which  was  for  that  time  large, 
were  found.  It  was  surrounded  by  strong  walls  and  one  of  its 
rugged  gates  was  discovered  on  the  south.  In  the  upper  strata  of 
this  city  imitations  of  Cretan  pottery  were  found.  As  it  is  prob¬ 
able  that  the  Philistines  came  from  Crete,  or  were  intimately  as¬ 
sociated  with  people  who  were  under  Cretan  influence,  this  pottery 
is  doubtless  Philistine.  The  city  which  was  encircled  by  this  wall 
had  passed  through  two  periods  of  history.  The  original  wall  was 
built  before  the  domination  of  Palestine  by  Egypt.  As  this  domi¬ 
nation  began  about  1500  b.  c.,  the  earlier  fortress  of  Beth-shemesh 
belongs  to  that  period.  The  second  period  belongs  in  its  earlier 

1  See  Macalister,  The  Excavation  of  Gezer,  London,  1912,  II,  209-223. 

2  Ibid.,  236-266. 

3  See  the  Annual  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  Vols.  I  and  II,  for  the  details  here 
given,  and  for  many  others. 


PALESTINE  AND  ITS  EXPLORATION 


95 


strata  to  the  age  of  the  El-Amarna  letters,  in  which  the  city  is 
called  Beth-Ninib.  The  upper  period  of  it  belongs,  as  has  been 
noted,  to  the  Philistine  period. 

This  city  was  destroyed  by  a  siege  which  resulted  in  the  burning 
of  the  city — a  burning  which  left  quite  a  bed  of  ashes.  Dr.  Mac¬ 
kenzie  thought  that  this  was  the  siege  by  which  the  Israelites  gained 
possession  of  Beth-shemesh.  The  city  was  occupied  by  the 
Hebrews  apparently  until  the  invasion  of  Palestine  by  Sennacherib, 
King  of  Assyria,  in  701  b.  c.  At  all  events,  it  was  in  the  possession 
of  Judah  in  the  days  of  King  Amaziah  (2  Kings  14  :  8-14).  Corre¬ 
sponding  to  this,  Israelitish  pottery  was  found  in  the  stratum 
above  the  ashes.  Dr.  Mackenzie  is  of  the  opinion  that  during 
this  Hebrew  period  the  city  was  without  a  wall.  Apparently  after 
the  time  of  Sennacherib  the  site  was  abandoned  for  several  cen¬ 
turies,  for  next  above  the  Israelitish  stratum  the  remains  of  a 
monastery  of  the  Byzantine  period  (325-636  A.  d.)  were  found. 
This  monastery  apparently  was  not  begun  until  just  at  the  close 
of  the  Byzantine  period,  for  it  appears  that  it  was  not  finished  at 
the  time  of  the  Mohammedan  conquest. 

(11)  Exploring  the  Wilderness  of  Zin. — The  most  recent  ser¬ 
vice  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  was  the  sending  of  two  ex¬ 
plorers,  C.  Leonard  Woolley  and  T.  E.  Lawrence,  in  the  winter  of 
1913-14,  to  explore  the  wilderness  to  the  south  of  Palestine.  The 
results  of  their  work  have  been  published  in  the  Fund’s  Annual , 
Vol.  Ill,  under  the  title  The  Wilderness  of  Zin.  The  explorers 
identified  a  considerable  part  of  the  “Darb  es-Shur,”  or  the  “way 
of  Shur”  (Gen.  16  :  7,  etc.).  It  was  the  caravan  road  from  Pales¬ 
tine  to  Egypt.  They  also  adduce  strong  evidence  against  the  iden¬ 
tification  of  Ain  Kades  with  Kadesh-Barnea  (Num.  32  :  8,  etc.), 
and  think  that  Kossima,  which  lies  nearer  to  the  Egyptian  road  and 
is  surrounded  by  much  more  verdure,  may  have  been  Kadesh- 
Barnea.  The  identification  of  Ain  Kades  with  Kadesh-Barnea  was 
made  by  the  late  Dr.  Henry  Clay  Trumbull,  after  a  very  brief  visit 
to  the  spot,  and  it  has  been  accepted  by  many  others. 

Between  325  and  636  a.  d.  extensive  settlements  and  cities  of 
considerable  size  existed  in  this  wilderness.  This  was  one  of  the 
facts  that  led  Ellsworth  Huntington  to  believe  that  the  rainfall  in 
Palestine  was  much  greater  at  that  time.  With  this  view  Woolley 
and  Lawrence  take  issue.  They  say  that  where  the  old  wells  have 
been  kept  open,  the  water  still  rises  as  high  as  ever  it  did.  They 


96 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


hold  that  the  cities  mentioned  were  possible  because  of  the  great 
energy  and  skill  of  the  people  of  that  time  in  sinking  wells. 

5.  The  German  Palestine  Society. — While  the  work  of  the 
Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  which  has  been  outlined  in  detail,  was 
going  on,  other  countries  were  aroused  to  similar  activities.  In 

1877  a  similar  Society,  the  Deutscher  Palastina-Verein,  was  organ¬ 
ized  to  foster  the  collection  of  information  about  the  land  of  the 
Bible.  Accurate  scientific  research  in  all  branches  of  knowledge 
relating  to  Palestine  was  contemplated,  and  the  co-operation  of 
travelers  and  of  the  German  colonies  in  Palestine  was  invited.  In 

1878  this  Society  began  the  publication  of  a  journal1  which  has 
become  a  repository  of  information  about  the  Holy  Land. 

(1)  Guthe’s  Excavation  at  Jerusalem. — In  1880  Prof.  Guthe  ex¬ 
cavated  at  various  points  on  Ophel  at  Jerusalem,  and  followed  the 
line  of  the  ancient  wall  along  the  east  side  of  the  city  of  David.2 

(2)  Megiddo. — In  1903  this  German  Society  undertook  the  ex¬ 
cavation  of  Tell  el-Mutesellim,  the  site  of  the  Biblical  Megiddo3 
(Josh.  12  :  21;  2  Kings  23  :  29,  etc.).  This  work  was  entrusted  to 
the  direction  of  Dr.  Gottlieb  Schumacher,  of  Haifa.  Work  was 
begun  on  the  7th  of  February,  1903,  and  continued  at  intervals 
until  the  30th  of  November,  1905.  In  the  lowest  stratum  of  the 
mound  Dr.  Schumacher  found  traces  of  a  settlement  the  houses  of 
which  were  constructed  of  mud-bricks.  Over  the  ruins  of  these  a 
second  series  of  houses  had  been  built  of  stone.  In  the  same 
stratum  some  tombs  were  found  containing  skeletons,  some  pottery 
of  early  forms,  a  bronze  knife,  and  some  scarabs  set  in  gold.  The 
walls  of  the  city  were  in  part  built  of  brick.  The  settlements  rep¬ 
resented  by  this  stratum  antedated  2000  b.  c. 

In  the  next  stratum  a  large  structure,  probably  a  palace,  was 
found,  which  had  been  occupied  through  the  periods  represented 
by  the  stratum  in  which  its  foundations  were  laid  and  the  stratum 
next  above  it.  The  building  was  of  stone  and  was  large.  In  one 
part  of  it  was  a  “pillar”  apparently  used  for  worship.  Various 
types  of  pottery,  knives  of  flint  and  bronze,  many  stone*  household 
utensils,  an  Astarte  figure,  and  some  scarabs  of  the  period  of  the 
twelfth  Egyptian  dynasty  were  found.  This  stratum,  then,  be¬ 
longed  to  the  period  2000-1800  b.  c. 


1  Zeitschrift  des  deutschen  Paldstina-Vereins. 

2  See  Zeitschrift  des  deutschen  Paldstina-Vereins ,  V,  pp.  7-204. 

3  See  Schumacher  und  Steuernagel,  Tell  el-Mutesellim,  Leipzig,  1908, 


PALESTINE  AND  ITS  EXPLORATION 


97 


Next  above  this  stratum  was  one  in  which  types  of  painted  pot¬ 
tery  similar  to  that  of  the  Philistines  came  to  light.  In  the  fifth 
stratum  from  the  bottom  a  palace  of  the  Hebrew  period  was  dis¬ 
covered.  In  this  palace  a  seal  was  found  bearing  a  lion  and  the 
inscription  “belonging  to  Shema,  the  servant  of  Jeroboam.”  It  is 
impossible  to  tell  whether  the  Jeroboam  who  was  Shema’s  master 
was  Jeroboam  I  or  Jeroboam  II.  In  this  same  stratum  a  temple 
wras  found  containing  three  “pillars”;  (see  Fig.  27). 

In  another  part  of  the  mound  in  a  sixth  stratum,  which  seemed 
to  be  late  Hebrew,  three  “pillars”  were  found  in  an  open  space 
near  the  south  gate,  a  stone  religious  emblem,  and  a  decorated 
incense-burner.  Elsewhere  this  sixth  stratum  yielded  a  black¬ 
smith’s  shop.  In  a  seventh  stratum,  just  under  the  soil,  re¬ 
mains  of  the  Greek  period  were  found,  among  which  was  an 
Athenian  coin.  This  was  the  last  occupation  of  the  tell,  and  was 
pre-Christian.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Roman  period  the  town 
was  moved  from  the  high  land  of  the  mound  down  nearer  the 
water  supply.  On  the  slope  of  the  hill  a  native-rock  altar  was 
found  which  had  been  used  in  prehistoric  times. 

(3)  Taanacli. — In  1899  Prof.  Ernst  Sellin,  of  Vienna,  visited 
Palestine  and  became  so  deeply  interested  in  its  exploration  that 
he  induced  several  Austrian  scientific  bodies  and  individuals  to 
contribute  a  fund  for  the  purpose.  The  result  was  an  excavation  of 
Tell  Taanek,  the  Biblical  Taanach  (Josh.  12  :  21;  Judges  5  :  19), 
conducted  by  Sellin  in  1902  and  1903.  Sellin  did  not  excavate 
the  mound  in  a  systematic  way  and  his  results  are  not  very  clearly 
presented  in  his  book.1  He  traced  in  several  places  four  strata 
in  the  tell.  An  early  stratum  had  its  beginnings,  he  thought, 
as  early  as  2500  b.  c.  This  stratum  represented  probably  an 
occupation  of  more  than  a  thousand  years.  In  its  later  parts 
the  remains  of  a  large  palace  were  found,  and  in  a  cave  underneath 
it  four  cuneiform  tablets,  written  in  the  script  of  the  El-Amarna 
period.  Originally  there  were  more  tablets  in  the  archive,  but  it 
had  been  rifled  in  ancient  times.  Above  this  was  a  stratum  in  which 
pottery  of  the  Cypriote  and  Philistine  type  was  found.  Next  above 
this  was  a  Hebrew  stratum,  which  seems  to  have  lasted,  judging  by 
objects  found  in  it,  down  to  the  time  of  Psammetik  I  of  Egypt, 
663-609  b.  c.  In  this  stratum  the  remains  of  a  high  place  with  its 
“pillars”  were  found,  as  well  as  a  terra-cotta  incense-altar  of  wonder- 

1  Sellin,  Tell  Taanek,  Wien,  1904. 


98 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


ful  construction.  Above  this  there  were  in  places  a  few  remains 
from  the  Seleucid  period,  including  some  pottery,  and  at  the 
top  of  the  mound  some  remains  of  an  Arabic  settlement.  This 
last  seems  to  have  been  established  here  about  the  time  of  the 
Crusaders.  Sellin  thinks  Taanach  was  destroyed  by  the  Scythian 
invasion,  about  625  b.  c.,  that  in  the  Seleucid  period  the  main 
settlement  here  was  not  on  the  mound,  and  that  it  was  then  unoc¬ 
cupied  until  the  time  of  the  Crusaders. 

(4)  Capernaum. — The  Deutsche  Orient-Gesellschaft,  which  was 
carrying  on  excavations  in  Egypt,  Babylonia,  and  Assyria,  under¬ 
took  the  investigation  of  the  remains  of  ancient  synagogues  in 
Galilee  and  the  Jaulan.  Among  these  they  excavated  the  ruins  of 
the  synagogue  at  Tell  Hum  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee,1  the  probable 
site  of  Capernaum.  Here  they  found  the  remains  of  a  once  beau¬ 
tiful  synagogue  which  was  probably  built  in  the  fourth  century  a.  d. 
Beneath  it  is  the  floor  of  a  still  older  building.  This  last  is  probably 
the  synagogue  in  which  so  many  of  the  incidents  of  the  ministry 
of  Christ  in  Capernaum  took  place,  the  one  built  by  a  Roman 
centurion.  (See  Luke  7 : 5  and  Fig.  32.) 

(5)  Jericho. — This  same  Society  undertook,  in  the  years  1907— 
1909,  the  excavation  of  Jericho;  (see  Fig.  29).  The  work  was 
entrusted  to  the  direction  of  Prof.  Sellin,  of  Vienna.  The 
digging  occupied  about  three  weeks  in  the  spring  of  1907,  and 
about  three  months  of  the  early  part  of  each  of  the  years  1908  and 
1909. 2  At  the  bottom  of  the  mound  traces  of  a  prehistoric  occupa¬ 
tion  of  the  site  were  uncovered,  but  as  these  were  under  the  founda¬ 
tions  of  a  Canaanitish  fortress,  which  were  not  demolished,  nothing 
further  was  ascertained  about  them.  Above  this  prehistoric  city 
were  the  remains  of  an  Amorite  or  Canaanite  city.  A  jar  handle 
found  in  the  lower  half  of  this  Canaanite  stratum  was  stamped  with 
a  scarab  of  the  time  of  the  twelfth  Egyptian  dynasty,  which  indi¬ 
cates  that  this  occupation  goes  back  to  about  2000  b.  c.  The 
walls  of  this  early  city  were  traced  on  all  sides  of  the  tell  except 
the  east.  On  this  side,  where  the  Ain  es-Sultan  is  (otherwise  called 
Elisha’s  Fountain,  from  the  incident  of  2  Kings  2  :  19-22),  the 
wall  had  entirely  disappeared.  This  early  city  was  small.  The 
whole  of  it  could  have  been  put  into  the  Colosseum  at  Rome.  All 
early  Palestinian  cities  were,  however,  small.  In  the  city  was  a 


1  See  Mitteilungen  der  deutschen  Orient-Gesellschaft,  No.  29,  Berlin,  1905,  p.  14,  f. 

2  See  Sellin  und  Watzinger,  Jericho,  Leipzig,  1913. 


PALESTINE  AND  ITS  EXPLORATION 


99 


citadel  with  a  double  wall.  Each  wall  represented  a  different  pe¬ 
riod  of  history.  Both  were  built  of  brick,  as  were  the  houses  of  the 
time.  The  outer  wall  was  between  four  and  five  feet  thick  and 
appeared  to  be  the  older;  the  inner  one  was  about  ten  feet  thick. 
They  were  joined  here  and  there  by  transverse  walls;  (see  Fig.  37). 
The  city  had  been  burned  apparently  about  1300-1200  b.  c.,  per¬ 
haps  at  the  time  of  the  Hebrew  conquest. 

Above  the  ruins  of  this  pre-Israelitish  city  were  the  remains  of 
the  Hebrew  town.  The  earliest  of  these  remains  seems  to  date 
from  the  ninth  century  b.  c.;  (see  1  Kings  16  :34),  as  it  was 
rebuilt  in  the  days  of  Ahab;  (see  Fig.  34).  The  Israelites,  in 
Sellin’s  judgment,  made  the  city  considerably  larger  than  it 
had  been  in  the  earlier  time.  A  wall,  which  he  believed  to  be 
the  wall  of  the  Hebrew  period,  was  found  on  all  sides  except  the 
east,  considerably  outside  the  older  wall.  Pere  Vincent,  of  the 
French  Ecole  Biblique  at  Jerusalem,  believes  this  wall  to  have  been 
built  in  the  Canaanite  period  also,  but  his  reasons  do  not  seem  con¬ 
vincing.  On  the  eastern  edge  of  the  Israelitish  stratum  the  re¬ 
mains  of  a  large  stone  building  were  found.  Sellin  thinks  this 
may  be  the  palace  and  fortress  built  by  Hiel  in  the  time  of  Ahab 
(1  Kings  16  :  34).  This  Israelitish  city  seems  to  have  flourished 
only  about  two  hundred  years.  It  was  probably  destroyed  in  the 
time  of  Sennacherib,  about  700  b.  c.  Sellin  thought  he  found 
traces  of  another  rebuilding  which  must  soon  have  followed  the 
destruction,  but  this  Jericho  was  also  destroyed  by  Nebuchadrezzar 
in  586  b.  c.  At  some  time  after  the  Babylonian  Exile  the  city  was 
rebuilt  and  flourished  until  destroyed  by  Vespasian  in  70  A.  d. 
It  was  rebuilt  after  325  A.  d.  and  continued  until  destroyed  by  the 
invasion  of  the  Persian  King  Chosroes  II,  in  614  a.  d.  Some  slight 
settlements  have  existed  on  the  mound  in  Moslem  times,  but  the 
Jericho  of  today  is  more  than  a  mile  distant. 

6.  The  American  School  at  Jerusalem. — In  the  year  1900  the 
American  School  of  Oriental  Research  in  Palestine  was  opened  at 
Jerusalem  under  the  aegis  of  the  Archaeological  Institute  of  America. 
It  is  one  of  the  purposes  of  this  school,  when  its  funds  will  permit, 
to  carry  on  excavations  as  well  as  explorations.  Hitherto  it  has  not 
had  money  sufficient  to  enable  it  to  undertake  extensive  excavations. 
In  addition  to  the  investigation  of  many  matters  not  strictly  archae¬ 
ological,  the  School  has  conducted  a  number  of  minor  explorations. 
When  the  present  writer  was  Director,  1902-1903,  he  cleared  the 


100 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


so-called  Tomb  of  the  Judges  and  found  the  ruins  of  a  caravansary 
of  the  Crusading  period  near  the  Damascus  Gate.  Under  L.  B. 
Paton,  1903-1904,  an  excavation  was  made  on  the  supposed  line  of 
the  “Third  Wall”  of  Jerusalem.  Under  Nathaniel  Schmidt,  1904- 
1905,  the  Dead  Sea  was  explored  and  some  discoveries  made  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Arnon  and  the  Wady  Suweil.1  Under  D.  G.  Lyon, 
1906-1907,  some  pre-Israelitish  pottery  was  recovered  from  tombs 
of  Samieh  east  of  Et-Taiyibeh.2  Under  W.  J.  Moulton,  1912-1913, 
some  painted  tombs  of  the  Seleucid  time  were  explored  at  Beit 
Jibrin. 

7.  Samaria. — Although  the  American  School  at  Jerusalem  has 
not  yet  been  able  to  undertake  extensive  excavations,  through  the 
generosity  of  Mr.  Jacob  Schiff,  of  New  York,  Harvard  University 
was  able  to  excavate  at  Sebastiyeh,  the  site  of  ancient  Samaria, 
during  parts  of  three  seasons — 1908,  1909,  and  1910.  During  the 
first  season  the  work  was  under  the  direction  of  Prof.  D.  G.  Lyon; 
during  1909  and  1910,  under  the  direction  of  Prof.  G.  A.  Reisner, 
who  has  had  large  experience  in  such  work  in  Egypt,  and  who,  in 
addition  to  many  archaeological  triumphs  there,  has  solved  the  riddle 
of  the  Sphinx.  At  Samaria3  a  large  palace  was  found  built  upon  the 
native  rock.  This  is  believed  to  be  the  remains  of  the  palace  of 
Omri  (1  Kings  16  :  24).  Above  this  were  the  ruins  of  a  larger 
palace,  the  wall  of  which  was  faced  with  white  marble.  This  is 
believed  to  have  been  the  palace  of  Ahab,  who  is  said  to  have  built 
an  “ivory  house”  (1  Kings  22  :  39).  In  a  building  on  a  level  with 
this  palace  a  considerable  number  of  inscribed  potsherds  were 
found.  They  were  receipts  for  wine  and  oil  stored  there.  At 
the  western  edge  of  the  hill  the  old  city  gate  was  uncovered. 
It  had  been  rebuilt  at  different  times.  The  foundations  were 
clearly  laid  in  the  Israelitish  period.  On  these  now  rests  a 
superstructure  of  Herodian  workmanship.  Above  the  ruins  of 
the  Hebrew  city  were  the  remains  of  a  city  built  by  the  Assyr¬ 
ians.  (See  2  Kings  17  :  24-34.)  This  was  inferred  by  the  char¬ 
acter  of  the  building  materials  employed,  and  by  the  fragment  of 
a  clay  tablet  found  there.  Still  above  this  were  remains  of  a  city 
of  the  Seleucid  time — the  city  destroyed  by  John  Llyrcanus4  in 

1  See  Journal  of  Biblical  Literature,  Vol.  XXII,  Boston,  1903,  pp.  164-182;  XXIV,  196-220; 
XXV,  82-9.3. 

2  See  Harvard  Theological  Review,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  I,  1908,  p.  92. 

3  Ibid.,  II,  102-113;  III,  136-138,  248-263. 

4  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  xiii,  10,  2  and  3;  Wars  of  the  Jews,  i,  2,  7. 


PALESTINE  AND  ITS  EXPLORATION 


101 


109  b.  c.  Still  above  this  were  remains  of  the  temple  built  by 
Herod  the  Great,  when  he  rebuilt  Samaria  and  named  it  Sebaste, 
the  Greek  for  Augusta,  in  honor  of  the  Emperor  Augustus.  This 
temple  had  been  repaired  in  the  third  century  a.  d. 

8.  Parker’s  Excavations  at  Jerusalem. — In  the  years  1909,  1910, 
and  1911  an  English  expedition  under  Capt.,  the  Hon.  Montague 
Parker,  a  retired  officer  of  the  British  army,  made  extensive  explora¬ 
tions  upon  Ophel,  the  slope  of  the  eastern  hill  south  of  the  present 
city  walls  at  Jerusalem.  Parker  was  not  an  archaeologist  and  the 
motive  for  the  exploration  is  not  yet  disclosed.  The  party  is  said 
to  have  been  abundantly  supplied  with  money,  and  to  have  come  to 
Palestine  in  a  private  yacht,  which  was  anchored  off  Jaffa  while 
they  were  at  work.  In  1911  the  hostility  of  the  Moslems  became 
so  excited  by  the  rumor  that  they  had  attempted  to  excavate  under 
the  Mosque  of  Omar  that  the  expedition  came  to  an  abrupt  close, 
and  the  explorers  escaped  on  their  yacht.  Through  the  descrip¬ 
tions  of  two  residents  of  Jerusalem,  Prof.  Hughes  Vincent1  and  Dr. 
E.  W.  G.  Masterman,2  we  have  some  knowledge  of  the  value  of 
Parker’s  work.  He  cleared  the  silt  out  of  the  Siloam  tunnel  so  as 
to  reveal  its  real  depth,  which  seems  to  have  been  between  five  and 
six  feet.  It  had  been  so  silted  up  that  it  appeared  to  be  only  about 
half  that  depth.  He  also  explored  more  fully  the  caves  about  Ain 
Sitti  Miriam  (the  Biblical  Gihon,  1  Kings  1  :  33),  which  had  been 
partially  explored  by  Sir  Charles  Warren,  so  that  the  nature  and 
probable  use  of  these  are  now  known  much  better.  More  will  be 
said  of  this  in  a  future  chapter. 

9.  Latest  Excavations. — Within  the  last  few  years  the  Assump- 
tionist  Fathers  have  been  excavating  on  a  tract  of  land  purchased 
by  them  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  western  hill  to  the  south  of 
the  present  city  wall.  They  believe  that  they  have  discovered 
the  house  of  Caiaphas,  to  which  Christ  was  led  in  the  course  of 
his  trial  (Matt.  26  :  57;  John  18  :  24).  Possibly  they  have  found 
the  house  which,  after  the  time  of  Constantine,  was  pointed  out 
to  Christian  pilgrims  as  that  of  Caiaphas.  However  this  may  be, 
they  have  unearthed  several  streets  of  Roman  and  Jewish  Jerusa¬ 
lem,  and  are  keeping  them  uncovered.  These  streets,  like  the 
ruins  of  Pompeii,  disclose  pavements  and  house-foundations  that 

1  Revue  biblique,  1912  (Paris'),  pp.  86-116. 

2  Biblical  World,  Vol.  XXXIX,  Chicago,  1912,  pp.  295-306. 


102 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


may  go  back  to  the  time  of  Christ.  Here,  possibly,  one  may 
look  upon  pavements  which  his  feet  actually  trod.1 

In  1914  some  excavations  were  made  on  Ophel  at  Jerusalem 
under  the  direction  of  Capt.  Weil  for  a  Jewish  organization,  and 
at  the  mound  Balata,  near  Nablous,  the  Biblical  Shechem,  by  the 
Germans.  The  work  at  Balata  was  under  the  direction  of  Prof. 
Sellin.  Both  are  said  to  have  made  discoveries.  At  Balata  it  is 
said  that  the  city  gate  of  ancient  Shechem  was  uncovered.  Noth¬ 
ing  has,  however,  been  published  concerning  these,  and  the  great 
war  of  1914  brought  all  such  work  to  a  stop.  The  preparation  of 
foundations  of  a  new  Jewish  hospital  near  the  Dung  Gate  has  laid 
bare  the  aqueducts  which  conveyed  the  water  from  “Solomon’s 
Pools”  into  the  city.2 

In  this  account  only  the  principal  explorations  have  been  men¬ 
tioned.  In  all  parts  of  Palestine,  and  especially  at  Jerusalem,  im¬ 
portant  archaeological  discoveries  are  frequently  made  when  people 
are  digging  to  lay  the  foundations  of  buildings,  to  construct  a 
cistern,  or  for  other  purposes.  Other  important  discoveries,  as, 
for  instance,  the  rock-cut  high  place  at  Petra,3  and  the  painted 
tombs  at  Beit  Jibrin,4  have  been  made  by  people  traveling  through 
the  land.  Many  discoveries  made  in  this  way  are  recorded  in  the 
Quarterly  Statement  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  the  Zeit- 
schrift  des  deutschen  Palastina-Vereins,  and  the  Revue  biblique. 
Lack  of  space  forbids  the  attempt  to  chronicle  these.5 

1  See  Germer-Durand  in  Revue  biblique,  1914,  pp.  71-94,  and  Frontispiece. 

2  See  Quarterly  Statement  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  October,  1914,  p.  167,  f.  Addi* 
tional  material  on  Ophel  and  Balata  is  given  in  the  Appendix,  p.  446. 

s  First  noticed  by  Prof.  George  L.  Robinson,  of  McCormick  Seminary,  Chicago,  and  after¬ 
ward  by  Prof.  Samuel  Ives  Curtis,  of  the  Chicago  Theological  Seminary;  see  Chapter  XI,  p.  173,  f. 

4  Discovered  in  1902  by  Dr.  J.  P.  Peters  and  Dr.  Thiersch;  see  their  Painted  Tombs  of  Marissa, 
London,  1905. 

6  Reference  should  also  be  made  to  the  expedition  from  Princeton  University,  referred  to  on 
p.  107,  led  by  Prof.  H.  C.  Butler,  which  went  out  in  1899-1900,  in  1904-1905,  and  in  1909,  and 
examined  the  ruins  in  the  Hauran  (or  region  east  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee),  in  the  Lebanon  Mountains, 
and  in  that  part  of  Syria  to  the  east  of  Lebanon.  The  expedition  gathered  many  inscriptions, 
most  of  which  belong  to  the  Christian  period.  The  results  of  this  exploration  are  published  in 
The  Publications  of  an  Archceological  Expedition  to  Syria  in  i8qq-iqoo,  New  York,  1904,  and 
Publications  of  the  Princeton  Archceological  Expeditions  to  Syria  in  1904-1905  and  1909,  Leyden, 
1908-1914. 


CHAPTER  V 


OUTLINE  OF  PALESTINE’S  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  HISTORY 

The  Early  Stone  Age.  The  Late  Stone  Age.  The  Amorites.  The  Canaan- 
ites.  Egyptian  Domination:  Thothmes  III.  Palestine  in  the  El-Amarna  Letters. 
Seti  I.  Ramses  II.  Merneptah.  Ramses  III.  The  Philistines.  The  Hebrews. 
Philistine  Civilization.  The  Hebrew  Kingdoms.  The  Exile  and  After:  The 
Samaritans.  Alexander  the  Great  and  his  successors.  The  Maccabees.  The  As- 
monaeans.  The  Coming  of  Rome:  The  Herods.  The  destruction  of  Jerusalem  in 
70  a.  d.  Later  History. 

1.  The  Early  Stone  Age. — Palestine  appears  to  have  been  in¬ 
habited  at  a  very  remote  period.  Scholars  divide  the  races  of  pre¬ 
historic  men,  who  used  stone  implements,  into  two  classes — Palaeo¬ 
lithic  and  Neolithic.  Palaeolithic  men  did  not  shape  their  stone 
implements.  If  they  chanced  to  find  a  stone  shaped  like  an  axe, 
they  used  it  as  such;  if  they  found  a  long,  thin  one  with  a  sharp 
edge,  they  used  it  for  a  knife.  Neolithic  man  had  learned  to  shape 
his  stone  tools.  He  could  make  knives  for  himself  out  of  flint  and 
form  other  tools  from  stone.  The  earliest  inhabitants  of  Palestine 
belonged  to  the  palaeolithic  period.  Unshaped  stone  implements 
have  been  found  in  many  parts  of  the  country.  They  have  been 
picked  up  in  the  maritime  plain,  in  still  larger  numbers  on  the  ele¬ 
vated  land  south  of  Jerusalem,  and  again  to  the  south  of  Amman, 
the  Biblical  Rabbah  Ammon,  on  the  east  of  the  Jordan.  The 
Assumptionist  Fathers  of  Notre  Dame  de  France  at  Jerusalem  have 
a  fine  collection  of  flint  implements  in  their  Museum. 

These  palaeolithic  men  lived  in  caves  in  which  they  left  traces  of 
their  occupation.  Several  of  these  caves  in  Phoenicia  have  been 
explored  by  Pere  Zumoffen,  of  the  Catholic  University  of  St. 
Joseph,  Beirut.1  It  has  been  estimated  that  these  cave-dwellers 
may  have  been  in  Palestine  as  early  as  10,000  b.  c. 

2.  The  Late  Stone  Age. — Of  neolithic  men  in  Palestine  much 
more  is  known.  This  knowledge  comes  in  part  from  the  numerous 
cromlechs,  menhirs,  dolmens,  and  “gilgals”  which  are  scattered 

1  See  R.  A.  S.  Macalister,  History  of  Civilization  in  Palestine,  Cambridge  University  Press,  1912, 
pp.  10,  11. 


103 


104 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


over  eastern  Palestine.  A  cromlech  is  a  heap  of  stones  roughly 
resembling  a  pyramid;1  a  menhir  is  a  group  of  unhewn  stones  so  set 
in  the  earth  as  to  stand  upright  like  columns;2  a  dolmen  consists  of  a 
large  unhewn  stone  which  rests  on  two  others  which  separate  it 
from  the  earth;3  and  a  “gilgal”  is  a  group  of  menhirs  set  in  a  circle.2 
These  monuments  are  the  remains  of  men  of  the  stone  age  who  dwelt 
here  before  the  dawn  of  history.  They  were  probably  erected 
by  some  of  those  peoples  whom  the  Hebrews  called  Rephaim4  or 
“shades” — people  who,  having  lived  long  before,  were  dead  at  the 
time  of  the  Hebrew  occupation. 

Similar  monuments  of  the  stone  age  have  been  found  in  Japan, 
India,  Persia,  the  Caucasus,  the  Crimea,  Bulgaria;  also  in  Tripoli,5 
Tunis,  Algeria,  Morocco,  Malta,  southern  Italy,  Sardinia,  Corsica, 
the  Belearic  Isles,  Spain,  Portugal,  France,  the  British  Isles,  Scan¬ 
dinavia,  and  the  German  shores  of  the  Baltic.  Some  scholars  hold 
that  all  these  monuments  were  made  by  one  race  of  men,  who 
migrated  from  country  to  country.  As  the  monuments  are  not 
found  at  very  great  distances  from  the  sea,  the  migrations  are  sup¬ 
posed  to  have  followed  the  sea  coasts.6  Others  scout  the  idea  of  a 
migration  over  such  long  distances  at  such  an  early  epoch  of  the 
world’s  history,  and  believe  that  the  fashion  of  making  such  monu¬ 
ments  was  adopted  from  people  to  people  by  imitation.  Be  this  as 
it  may,  these  monuments  seem  to  have  been  in  Egypt  and  Palestine 
before  the  Semites  and  Hamites  developed  into  the  Egyptians, 
Amorites,  and  Hebrews,  for  they  wrere  adopted  by  them  as  the 
“pillars”  which  are  so  often  denounced  in  the  Old  Testament,  and 
in  Egypt  were  gradually  shaped  and  prolonged  into  the  obelisks. 

Of  the  men  of  this  stone  age  the  excavations  have  furnished  us 
with  some  further  information.  At  Gezer  the  native  rock  below 
all  the  cities  was  found  to  contain  caves,7  some  natural  and  some 
artificial,  which  had  formed  the,  dwellings  of  men  of  the  stone  age. 
They,  like  men  today,  were  lazy.  If  one  found  a  cave  that  would 
protect  him  from  heat,  cold,  and  rain,  he  would  occupy  it  and  save 

1  See  Barton,  A  Year’s  Wandering  in  Bible  Lands,  Philadelphia,  1904,  p.  143. 

2  See  Barton,  in  the  Biblical  World,  Chicago,  1904,  Vol.  XXIV,  p.  177. 

3  See  Conder,  Survey  of  Eastern  Palestine,  I,  pp.  125-277,  and  Mackenzie  in  the  Annual  of 
the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  I,  pp.  5-11. 

4  See  Gen.  14  :  5;  15  :  20. 

5  See  H.  S.  Cowper,  The  Hill  of  the  Graces,  a  Record  of  Investigation  among  the  Trilithons  and 
Megalithic  Sites  of  Tripoli,  London,  1897,  and  Brandenburg,  Uber  Felsarchitektur  im  Miltelmeergebiet 
in  Mitteilungen  der  V order asiatischen  Gesellschaft,  1914. 

6  See  the  Annals  of  Archaeology  and  Anthropology,  Vol.  V,  Liverpool,  1913,  pp.  112-128. 

7  See  Macalister,  The  Excavation  of  Gezer,  I,  72-152. 


PALESTINE’S  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  HISTORY  105 


himself  the  trouble  of  making  one.  But  there  were  not  enough 
caves  to  go  around,  so  some  of  the  men  of  ancient  Gezer  cut  caves 
for  themselves  out  of  the  soft  limestone  rock.  It  must  have  been  a 
difficult  task  with  the  stone  implements  at  their  disposal,  but  they 
accomplished  it,  sometimes  cutting  stairs  by  which  to  descend  into 
them.  One  such  cave  seems  to  have  been  used  by  them  as  a  temple. 
In  it  were  found  a  quantity  of  pig  bones,  which  were  apparently  the 
remains  of  their  sacrifices.  If  they  offered  the  pig  in  sacrifice,  they 
were  certainly  not  Semitic,  for  Semites  abhorred  swine.  These 
early  men  sometimes  adorned  the  sides  of  their  dwellings  by  scratch¬ 
ing  pictures  on  the  walls.  Several  pictures  of  cattle  were  found. 
One  cow  seemed  to  have  knobs  on  her  horns  to  keep  her  from  goring ! 
One  drawing  represented  a  stag  that  was  being  killed  with  a  bow 
and  arrow.1  These  early  men  burned  their  dead,  and  one  of  the 
caves  in  the  eastern  end  of  the  hill  was  used  as  their  crematory. 
Steps  in  the  rock  led  down  to  its  entrance.  The  cave  itself  was 
31  feet  long,  24  feet  6  inches  wide,  and  the  height  varied  from  2  to 
5  feet.  Near  one  end  a  hole  had  been  cut  to  the  upper  air  to  act  as 
a  flue.  Below  this  the  fires  that  burned  their  dead  had  been 
kindled;  cinders  and  charred  bones  of  these  far-off  men  were  found 
as  grim  tokens  of  their  funeral,  rites.  Shortly  after  these  bones 
were  found  the  anatomist,  Prof.  Alexander  Macalister,  of  Cambridge 
University,  father  of  the  excavator,  visited  the  camp  at  Gezer  and 
made  a  study  of  the  bones.  He  found  that  they  represented  a  non- 
Semitic  race.  The  peculiar  modifications  of  the  bones  caused  by 
the  squatting  so  universally  practised  by  Semites  were  absent. 
The  men  whose  bones  these  were  could  not  have  been  more  than 

5  feet  6  inches  in  height,  and  many  of  the  women  must  have  been 
as  short  as  5  feet  3  inches.  A  pottery  head  found  in  one  of  the 
caves,  which  may  be  a  rude  portrait  of  the  type  of  face  seen  in 
Gezer  in  this  period,  has  a  sloping  forehead,  which  afforded  little 
brain-space,  and  a  prominent  lower  jaw.  These  people  used  flint 
knives,  crushed  their  grain  in  hollow  stones  with  rounded  stones, 
employed  a  variety  of  stone  implements,  and  made  pottery  of  a 
rude  type,  which  will  be  described  in  a  later  chapter. 

The  city  of  Gezer  in  this  cave-dwelling  period  was  surrounded 
by  a  unique  wall  or  rampart.2  This  consisted  of  a  stone  wall  about 

6  feet  high  and  2  feet  thick,  on  the  outer  side  of  which  was  a  ram- 

1  See  Macalister,  The  Excavation  of  Gezer,  I,  145-152. 

2  Ibid.,  236,  ft 


106 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


part  of  packed  earth  about  6  feet  6  inches  at  the  base  and  sloping 
toward  the  top.  This  bank  of  earth  was  protected  by  a  covering  of 
small  stones  about  8  inches  in  depth.  This  rampart  never  could 
have  been  of  much  value  in  warfare,  and  was,  perhaps,  meant  as  a 
protection  against  incursions  of  wild  animals. 

In  the  hillsides  around  Gezer  there  are  many  caves  which  were 
probably  human  habitations  during  this  period,  but  as  they  have 
been  open  during  many  centuries,  traces  of  their  early  occupation 
have  long  since  been  destroyed.  At  Beit  Jibrin,  six  or  eight  hours 
to  the  south  of  Gezer,  there  are  also  many  caves  in  the  rock,  num¬ 
bers  of  which  are  artificial.  At  various  periods  these  have  been 
employed  as  residences.  It  is  altogether  probable  that  the  use  of 
some  of  them  goes  back  to  the  time  of  the  cave-dwellers  of  Gezer. 

Mr.  Macalister  has  suggested  a  connection  between  these  cave- 
dwellers  of  Gezer  and  the  Biblical  Horites,1  since  Horite  means 
“cave-dweller.”  In  the  Bible  the  Horites  are  said  to  have  dwelt  to 
the  east  of  the  Jordan,  and  more  especially  in  Edom  (Gen.  14  : 6; 
36  : 20,  21,  29;  Deut.  2  :  12,  22).  It  seems  probable  that  the 
reason  why  the  Bible  places  them  all  beyond  Jordan  is  that  the 
cave-dwellers  had  disappeared  from  western  Palestine  centuries 
before  the  Hebrews  came,  while  to  the  east  of  the  Jordan  they 
lingered  on  until  displaced  by  those  who  were  more  nearly  con¬ 
temporary  with  the  Hebrews.  On  the  west  of  the  Jordan  mega- 
lithic  monuments  were  probably  once  numerous,  since  traces  of  them 
still  survive  in  Galilee  and  Judaea,2  but  later  divergent  civilizations 
have  removed  most  of  them.  In  the  time  of  Amos  one  of  these 
“gilgals”  was  used  by  the  Hebrews  as  a  place  of  worship,  of  which 
the  prophet  did  not  approve.3 

It  seems  probable  that  there  was  a  settlement  of  these  cave- 
dwellers  at  Jerusalem.  The  excavations  of  Capt.  Parker  brought 
to  light  an  extensive  system  of  caves  around  the  Virgin’s  Fountain, 
Ain  Sitti  Miriam,  as  the  Arabs  call  it,  which  is  the  Biblical  Gihon.4 
These  caves  are  far  below  the  present  surface  of  the  ground.  It 
was  found,  too,  that  there  would  be  no  spring  at  this  point  at  all, 
if  some  early  men  had  not  walled  up  the  natural  channel  in  the 
rock  down  which  the  water  originally  ran.  These  men,  judging 
by  the  fragments  of  pottery  and  the  depth  of  the  debris,  belonged 

1  R.  A.  S.  Macalister,  Bible  Side-lights  from  the  Mound  of  Gezer,  London,  1906,  Chapter  II. 

2  See  P.  E.  Mader  in  Zeitschrift  des  deutschen  Paldstina-Vereins,  Vol.  XXXVII,  1914,  pp.  20-44. 

3  See  Amos  4  :  4;  5  :  5. 

4  See  Dr.  Masterman,  in  Biblical  World,  XXXIX,  301,  f. 


PALESTINE’S  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  HISTORY  107 


to  about  the  same  period  as  the  cave-dwellers  of  Gezer.  They 
apparently  settled  at  this  point  because  of  the  water,  and  one  of 
the  caves  may  have  been  a  sanctuary  to  their  god.  A  new  vista  is 
thus  added  to  the  history  of  that  city,  which  was  later  the  scene 
of  so  much  Biblical  life. 

From  various  archaeological  considerations  Mr.  Macalister 
estimated  that  the  diminutive  cave-dwelling  men  lived  at  Gezer 
for  about  500  years,  from  3000  to  2500  b.  c.,  when  they  were  dis¬ 
placed  by  a  Semitic  people. 

3.  The  Amorites. — We  are  accustomed  to  call  this  Semitic 
people  Amorites,  and  it  is  probable  that  this  is  right.  About  2800 
B.  c.,  under  a  great  king  named  Sargon,1  a  city  of  Babylonia  called 
Uru,  or  Amurru,2  and  Agade  conquered  all  of  Babylonia.  The 
dynasty  founded  by  Sargon  was  Semitic  and  ruled  Babylonia  for 
197  years.3  Even  before  Sargon  conquered  Babylonia,  Lugal- 
zaggisi,  King  of  Erech,  had  penetrated  to  the  Mediterranean  coast. 
Sargon  and  two  of  his  successors,  Naram-Sin  and  Shargali-sharri, 
carried  their  conquests  to  the  Mediterranean  lands.  A  seal  of  the 
last-mentioned  king  was  found  in  Cyprus.  It  is  probable  that  the 
coming  of  the  Amorites  began  in  the  north  with  the  conquests  of 
these  kir^gs.  To  the  east  of  the  Lebanon  the  Princeton  expedition 
found  stone  structures  similar  to  Babylonian  Ziggurats,  which  they 
attribute  to  the  Amorites,  and  hold  to  indicate  the  prevalence  of 
Babylonian  influence  in  this  region.  It  is  probable  that  the 
Amorites  slowly  worked  southward,  occupying  different  cities  as 
they  went.  Mr.  Macalister’s  estimate  that  they  reached  Gezer 
about  2500  b.  c.  is  not,  therefore,  unreasonable,  though  they  may 
have  arrived  there  a  century  earlier  than  that.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  that  long  intercourse  with  Babylonia  which  resulted 
in  the  employment  of  the  Babylonian  language  and  script  for  the 
purpose  of  expressing  written  thought  in  Palestine  long  after  the 
Egyptians  had  conquered  the  country.  This  intercourse  was  the 
more  natural  because  the  Semites  who  came  to  Palestine  were  of 
the  same  race  as  those  who  were  dominant  in  Babylonia. 

Meantime,  the  Egyptians  had  begun  to  take  notice  of  Palestine. 
Uni,  an  officer  of  Pepi  I  of  the  sixth  Egyptian  dynasty,  relates  that 
he  crossed  the  sea  in  ships  to  the  back  of  the  height  of  the  ridge 


1  See  the  legend  concerning  him  translated  in  P.-irt  II,  p.  310,  f. 

2  See  Clay,  Amurru,  Philadelphia,  1909,  pp.  102,  103. 

s  See  Recueil  de  travaux  relatifs  a.  phil.  et  d  arch.  e&pt.  et  assyr.,  XXXIV,  105-108. 


108 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


north  of  the  “sand-dwellers”  and  punished  the  inhabitants.1  This 
refers  to  the  coast  of  Palestine  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Philistine 
cities  or  Gezer.  The  time  was  between  2600  and  2570  b.  c. 
Egypt  was  at  this  time  only  anxious  to  make  her  own  borders  se¬ 
cure;  she  had  no  desire  to  occupy  this  Asiatic  land. 

Again,  between  2300  and  2200  b.  c.,  a  fresh  migration  of  Semites, 
apparently  also  of  the  Amorite  branch,  invaded  Babylonia  and  in 
time  made  the  city  of  Babylon  the  head  of  a  great  empire.  This 
race  furnished  the  first  dynasty  of  Babylon,  which  ruled  from 
2210  to  1924  b.  c.  Its  greatest  king,  Hammurapi,2  who  gave  to 
Babylonia  a  code  of  laws  in  the  vernacular  language,3  conquered  the 
“west  land,”  which  means  the  Mediterranean  coast.  It  was  prob¬ 
ably  under  his  successor,  Shamsu-iluna,  but  certainly  under  one  of 
the  kings  of  this  period,  that  a  man  in  Sippar,  in  leasing  a  wagon  for 
a  year,  stipulated  that  it  should  not  be  driven  to  the  Mediterranean 
coast,  because,  apparently,  travel  between  that  coast  and  northern 
Babylonia  was  so  frequent.4  In  this  same  period  there  lived  in 
Babylonia  an  Abraham,  the  records  of  some  of  whose  business 
documents  have  come  down  to  us.5  We  also  find  there  men  who 
bore  the  names  Yagubilu  (Jacobel)  and  Yashubilu  (Josephel), 
and  one  who  was  called  simply  Yagub,  or  Jacob.  Palestinian  evi¬ 
dence  from  a  later  time  leads  us  to  believe  that  men  bearing  all 
these  names  migrated  during  this  period  to  Palestine  and  gave  their 
names  to  cities  which  they  either  built  or  occupied.6 

Egyptians  also  came  to  Palestine  during  this  period.  The 
tale  of  Sinuhe7  relates  the  adventures  of  a  man  who  fled  to 
Palestine  in  the  year  1970  b.  c.,  and  who  reached  the  land  of  Kedem, 
or  the  East,  which  apparently  lay  to  the  east  of  the  Jordan.8  It 
is  referred  to  several  times  in  the  old  Testament.  (See  Gen.  29  :  1; 
Judges  6:3,  33;  7  :  12;  8  :  10;  Job  1  :  3,  etc.)  Sinuhe  there  en¬ 
tered  the  service  of  an  Amorite  chieftain,  Ammienshi,  married  his 
eldest  daughter,  became  ruler  of  a  portion  of  his  land,  and  lived 
there  for  many  years.  He  finally  returned  to  Egypt  and  wrote  an 
account  of  his  adventures.  This  region  was  also  called  by  Sinuhe 

1  See  Breasted,  Ancient  Records,  Egypt,  Vol.  I,  Chicago,  1906,  §  315. 

2  See  Chapter  II,  p.  59. 

3  Translated  in  Part  II,  p.  313,  f. 

4  See  Part  II,  p.  293. 

5  See  Part  II,  p.  290,  ff. 

6  See  Part  II,  p.  299,  ff. 

7  See  Breasted,  Ancient  Records,  Egypt,  I,  p.  233,  f. 

8  See  Barton,  Commentary  on  Job,  New  York,  1911,  pp.  5-7,  and  Breasted,  Ancient  Records , 
Egypt,  I,  p.  238,  note  a. 


PALESTINE’S  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  HISTORY  109 


and  other  Egyptians  Upper  Retenu,  a  name  which  they  also  ap¬ 
plied  to  all  the  higher  parts  of  Syria  and  Palestine.  Retenu  is 
philologically  equivalent  to  Lotan  (Gen.  36  :  20,  22,  29;  1  Chron. 
1  :  38,  39)  and  Lot  (Gen.  11:27;  12  :  4,  etc.).  When  Sinuhe  ar¬ 
rived  in  Kedem  he  found  other  Egyptians  already  there.  Ammi- 
enshi  was  well  acquainted  with  Egyptians.  There  was  apparently 
considerable  trade  with  Egypt  at  this  time.  Men  from  Palestine 
often  went  there  for  this  purpose.  Such  traders  are  pictured  on  an 
Egyptian  tomb  of  this  period.  Trade  with  Egypt  is  also  shown  to 
have  existed  by  the  discovery  of  Egyptian  scarabs  of  the  time  of  the 
Middle.  Kingdom  in  the  excavation  of  Gezer,  Jericho,  Taanach,  and 
Megiddo.  As  Egypt  was  nearer  and  commerce  with  it  easier,  its  art 
affected  the  art  of  Palestine  during  this  period  more  than  did  the 
art  of  Babylon,  although  the  people  were  akin  to  the  Babylonians. 
In  the  reign  of  Sesostris  III,  1887-1849  b.  c.,  the  Egyptian  king 
sent  an  expedition  into  Palestine,  and  captured  a  place,  called  in 
Egyptian  Sekmem,  which  is  thought  by  some  to  be  a  misspelling  of 
Shechem.1  This  expedition  probably  stimulated  Egyptian  influ¬ 
ence  in  the  country,  though  the  Egyptians  established  no  per¬ 
manent  control  over  the  land  at  this  time. 

When  the  Amorites  occupied  Palestinian  cities  they  at  once  erec¬ 
ted  fortifications.  The  inmost  of  the  three  wralls  of  Gezer  is  their 
work.  It  was  a  wall  about  13  feet  in  thickness,  in  which  were 
towers  41  feet  long  and  24  feet  thick  and  about  90  feet  apart.  It 
contained  at  least  two  gates.2  At  Megiddo  the  city  was  surrounded 
by  a  wall,  parts  of  which  were  made  of  brick,3  while  at  Jericho  the 
older  of  the  walls  of  the  central  citadel  dates  from  this  time.4 

4.  The  Canaanites. — Between  1800  and  1750  b.  c.  a  migration 
occurred  which  greatly  disturbed  all  western  Asia.  There  moved 
into  Babylonia  from  the  east  a  people  called  Kassites.  They  con¬ 
quered  Babylonia  and  established  a  dynasty  which  reigned  for  576 
years. ®  Coincident  with  this  movement  into  Babylonia  there  was 
a  migration  across  the  whole  of  Asia  to  the  westward,  which 
caused  an  invasion  of  Egypt  and  the  establishment  of  the  Hyksos 

dynasties  there.6  As  pointed  out  previously,7  it  is  possible  that 

\ 

1  See  Breasted,  Ancient'  Records,  Egypt,  §  630,  and  Barton  in  Journal  of  Biblical  Literature, 
Vol.  XXVIII,  p.  29. 

2  Macalister.  Excavation  of  Gezer,  I,  238-243  and  253. 

3  Tell  el-M utesellim ,  Tafeln,  vii-xi. 

4  See  Chapter  TV,  p  96. 

5  See  Chapter  II,  p.  59,  f. 

6  See  Chapter  I,  p.  28.  7  See  Chapter  III,  p.  75,  f. 


110 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


this  movement,  in  so  far  as  the  leadership  of  the  invasion  of  Egypt 
was  concerned,  was  Hittite.  In  any  event,  however,  many  Semites 
wrere  involved  in  it,  as  the  Semitic  names  in  the  Egyptian  Delta  at 
this  time  prove.  It  is  customary  to  assume  that  it  wras  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  this  migration  that  the  Canaanites  came  into  Palestine. 
This  cannot,  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  be  clearly 
proved,  but  such  evidence  as  we  have  points  in  this  direction. 
There  began  at  this  time  a  new  period  of  culture  at  Gezer,  which  is 
quite  distinguishable  from  that  which  had  preceded.  This  indi¬ 
cates  the  coming  of  new  influences.  Moreover,  there  was  appar¬ 
ently  an  augmentation  of  the  population  of  Palestine  at  this  time. 
New  cities  were  founded  at  Tell  el-Hesy  and  Tell  es-Safi,1  and  else¬ 
where.  We  thus  feel  sure  that  there  was  an  increase  of  population 
and,  when  next  our  written  sources  reveal  to  us  the  location  of  the 
nations,  the  Canaanites  were  dwelling  in  Phoenicia.  The  Egyptian 
scribes  of  a  later  time  called  the  entire  western  part  of  Syria  and 
Palestine  “The  Canaan.”2  Probably,  therefore,  the  Canaanites 
settled  along  the  sea  coast.  We,  therefore,  infer  that  they  came 
into  this  region  at  this  time.  With  the  coming  of  an  increased 
population,  the  Amorites  appear  to  have  been  in  part  subjugated 
and  absorbed,  and  in  part  forced  into  narrower  limits.  A  powerful 
group  of  them  maintained  their  integrity  in  the  region  afterward 
occupied  by  the  tribe  of  Asher  and  in  the  valley  between  the 
Lebanon  and  Anti-Lebanon  mountains,  where  they  afterward 
formed  a  kingdom.  Another  group  of  them  survived  to  the  east  of 
the  Jordan,  where  they  maintained  a  kingdom  until  overthrown  by 
the  Hebrews.  (See  Num.  21  and  Deut.  1-3.) 

After  the  coming  of  the  Canaanites  our  information  concerning 
the  history  of  Palestine  fails  us  for  nearly  three  hundred  years. 
All  that  we  know  of  the  history  of  the  country  is  wThat  can  be  in¬ 
ferred  from  the  accumulated  debris  of  the  “second  Semitic”  strata 
of  the  different  mounds  that  have  been  excavated.  During  these 
centuries  Egypt  was  invaded  by  the  Hyksos,  whose  course  was  run, 
and  under  the  great  eighteenth  dynasty  the  Hyksos  were  expelled, 
chased  into  Asia,  and  the  conquest  of  Asia  undertaken. 

5.  Egyptian  Domination. — Ahmose  I,  1580-1557  B.  C.,  besieged 
Sharuhen  (Josh.  19  :  6)  in  southern  Palestine  for  six  years  and 
captured  it,  while  both  Amenophis  I  and  Thothmes  I  between  1557 

1  See  Chapter  IV,  pp.  89,  91. 

*  See  Breasted,  Ancient  Records,  Egypt,  III,  §  616. 


PALESTINE’S  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  HISTORY  111 


and  1501  b.  c.  made  raids  through  Palestine  and  Syria  to  the 
Euphrates.  Of  their  deeds  in  Palestine  no  records  have  survived. 

(1)  Thothmes  III. — It  is  not  until  the  reign  of  Thothmes  III 
that  detailed  information  begins.  Between  1478  and  1447  b.  c. 
this  king  made  no  less  than  seventeen  expeditions  into  Palestine, 
Phoenicia,  and  Syria.  At  the  beginning  of  his  reign  this  country 
was  dotted  with  petty  kingdoms;  before  its  close  he  had  so  thor¬ 
oughly  amalgamated  it  with  Egypt  that  it  remained  an  integral 
part  of  the  Egyptian  dominion  for  100  years.  Before  his  death 
Thothmes  inscribed  on  the  walls  of  the  temple  of  Amon  at  Thebes 
a  list  of  the  places  in  Asia  which  he  had  conquered.  Many  of 
these  were  in  Palestine  and  in  Syria,  and  we  learn  in  this  way  what 
towns  were  already  places  of  importance  a  century  or  two  before  the 
Hebrew  conquest.  Among  places  that  are  mentioned  in  the  Old 
Testament  he  names1  Kedesh  (Josh.  19  :  37),  Megiddo,  Lebonah 
(Judges  21  :  19),  Addar  (Josh.  15  :3),  two  different  cities  named 
Abel;  see  Judges  7  :  22  (which  mentions  one  situated  in  the  Jordan 
valley),  and  2  Sam.  20  :  14  (which  refers  to  one  near  Dan),  Damas¬ 
cus,  Hammath2  (Josh.  19  :  35),  situated  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee  (where 
there  are  still  hot  springs),  Beeroth  (Josh.  9  :  17),  Sharon,  Tob 
(Judges  11:3,  5),  Kanah  (Josh.  19  :  28),  Ashtaroth  (Deut.  1:4; 
Josh.  9  :  20),  Makkedah  (Josh.  15  : 41),  Laish  (Judges  18  :  7,  18), 
Hazor  (Josh.  11:1;  Judges  4:2),  Chinneroth  (Josh.  11:2), 
Shunem  (Josh.  19  :  18;  1  Sam.  28  : 41;  2  Kings  4:8),  Achshaph 
(Josh.  11  :  1),  Taanach,  Ibleam  (Josh.  17  :  11;  Judges  1  :  27),  Ijon 
(1  Kings  15  :  20),  Accho,  Anaharath  (Josh.  19  :  19),  Ophra  (Judges 
6  :  11),  Joppa,  Gath,  Lod  (Neh.  7  :  37)  or  Lydda  (Acts  9  :  32),  Ono 
(1  Chron.  8  :  12),  Aphik  (1  Sam.  4:1),  Migdol,  Ephes-dammim 
(1  Sam.  17  :  1),  Rakkath  (Josh.  19  :  35),  Gerar  (Gen.  20  :  1,  etc.), 
Rabbith  (Josh.  19  :  20),  Namaah  (Josh.  15  :41),  Rehob  (Josh. 
19  :  28),  Edrei  (Deut.  1  :  4;  Josh.  12  :4),  Daiban  (Neh.  11  :  25), 
Bethshean  (Josh.  17  :  11),  Beth-anoth  (Josh.  15  :59),  Helkath 
(Josh.  19  :  25),  Geba  (Josh.  18  :  24),  Zererah  (Judges  7  :  22),  and 
Zephath  (Judges  1  :  17).  In  addition  to  these  towns  which  are 
mentioned  in  the  Bible,  the  list  of  Thothmes  III  contains  many 
other  names  which  we  cannot  yet  identify.  Among  these  are  the 
names  of  two  cities,  Josephel  and  Jacobel,  which  are  discussed  in 

1  Translated  from  W.  Max  Muller’s  publication  in  the  Mitleilungen  der  vorderasialischen  Gcscll- 
schaft,  1907,  Heft  7. 

2  Hammath  means  “hot.” 


112 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Part  II,  p.  300.  These  names,  as  already  noted,  are  the  same  as 
the  names  of  two  Babylonian  Amorites  of  the  time  of  the  first 
dynasty.  It  seems  probable  that  two  important  Amorites  had 
migrated  to  Palestine  and  had  either  founded  new  cities,  or  had 
been  men  of  such  consequence  that  their  names  were  attached  to 
cities  previously  in  existence.  A  parallel  to  this  is  found  in  the 
name  of  Abu  Gosh.  He  was  a  sheik  of  the  nineteenth  century,  but 
his  name  displaced  the  name  of  the  village  previously  called  Karyet 
el-Ineb,  between  Jaffa  and  Jerusalem,  and  it  is  now  called  Abu  Gosh. 
Conjectures  differ  as  to  the  part  of  Palestine  in  which  the  cities 
Jacobel  and  Josephel  were  situated.  We  have  in  reality  no  certain 
clue  as  to  this. 

It  is  probable  also  that  something  similar  had  occurred  in  the 
case  of  Abraham.  It  has  been  pointed  out  previously  that  Abra¬ 
ham  is  known  to  have  been  a  Babylonian  name  at  the  time  of  the 
first  Babylonian  dynasty.  The  Biblical  records  tell  of  the  coming 
of  Abraham  from  Mesopotamia  (Gen.  11  :  31-12  :  5),  and  the  in¬ 
scriptions  of  Sheshonk,  the  Biblical  Shishak,  tell  us  some  centuries 
later  of  the  existence  of  a  place,  apparently  in  southern  Judah, 
called  “The  Field  of  Abram.”  See  Part  II,  p.  360. 

(2)  Palestine  in  the  El-Amarna  Letters. — During  the  100  years 
of  Egyptian  supremacy  in  Palestine  which  Thothmes  III  inaugu¬ 
rated,  the  fortifications  of  certain  strategic  cities  were  greatly 
strengthened.  At  Gezer,  for  example,  an  entirely  new  wall  was 
built.  This  was  the  “outer”  wall  of  Mr.  Macalister’s  classification, 
a  substantial  structure  fourteen  feet  wide,  which  completely  en¬ 
circled  the  city.  This  massive  wall  remained  the  city’s  defence 
down  to  the  Babylonian  Exile. 

From  the  El-Amarna  letters  we*  gain  another  glimpse  of  Pales¬ 
tine  about  a  hundred  years  after  the  death  of  Thothmes  III.  The 
Biblical  cities  which  are  mentioned  in  these  letters  are  Accho 
(Judges  1  :  31),  Ashkelon,  Arvad  (Ezek.  27  8),  Aroer  (Num.  32  ; 
34),  Ashtaroth  (Deut.  1  : 4,  etc.),  Gebal  (Ezek.  27  :  9),  Gezer 
(Josh.  10  :  33,  1  Kings  9  :  15,  etc.),  Gath,  Gaza,  Jerusalem,  Joppa, 
Keilah  (1  Sam.  23  :  1),  Lachish  (Josh.  10* :  3,  etc.),  Megiddo,  Sidon, 
Tyre,  Shechem,  Sharon,  Taanach,  and  Zorah  (Judges  13  : 2). 
One  city,  called  in  these  letters  Beth-Ninib,  is,  in  all  probability, 
Bethshemesh  (Josh.  15  :  10,  etc.).  Many  other  towns  are  men¬ 
tioned  in  the  letters,  but  as  they  are  not  mentioned  in  the  Bible 
they  are  not  enumerated  here.  These  letters  were  written  just  as 


PALESTINE’S  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  HISTORY  113 


the  Egyptian  dominion  in  Asia  was  breaking  up,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  King  Amenophis  IV  was  much  more  deeply  interested  in 
religious  reform  than  in  politics.1  The  disintegration  of  the  empire 
produced  great  disorder.  The  power  which  Egypt  had  exerted  in 
the  past  made  the  Asiatics  still  fear  to  come  out  openly  against  her, 
but  the  correspondence  shows  that  several  petty  states  were  plotting 
against  one  another,  frequently  encroaching  upon  one  another,  and 
yet  all  the  time  professing  to  be  loyal  to  Egypt.  The  largest  num¬ 
ber  of  these  states  were  in  the  north  in  Phoenicia.  The  principal 
states  were  the  city  kingdoms  of  Gebal,  Beirut,  Tyre,  Jerusalem, 
and  the  Amorites.2  Jerusalem  at  this  time  ruled  a  considerable 
territory,3  but  its  history  will  be  discussed  connectedly  in  a  future 
chapter.4  The  kings  of  the  Amorites  during  this  period  were 
Ebed-Ashera  and  Aziru.  While  these  small  kingdoms  of  Pales¬ 
tine  and  Phoenicia  were  contending  with  one  another,  and  the  king 
of  Egypt  was  giving  no  attention  to  them,  the  land  was  inVaded 
from  the  north  by  the  Hittites  under  the  great  King  Subbil.uliuma,5 
who  gradually  conquered  the  Amorites  and  the  Orontes  Valley. 
It  was  at  the  same  time  invaded  from  the  east  by  the  Habiri,  who 
were  probably  the  Hebrews.6 

With  this  movement  of  peoples  there  came  into  the  west  a  third 
wave  of  Semitic  migration,  the  Aramaean.  We  hear  nothing 
of  the  Aramaic-speaking  peoples  in  earlier  time,  but  about  1300  b.  c. 
they  are  mentioned  by  both  Shalmaneser  I,  of  Assyria,  and  Ramses 
II,  of  Egypt,  as  though  they  were  in  Syria  and  Palestine.  In  later 
time  they  formed  the  basis  of  the  population  from  the  east  of  the 
Euphrates  to  the  Mediterranean  coast  and  southward  to  Damascus. 
In  Deut.  26  :  5  Israelites  are  told  to  say  “A  wandering  Aramaean 
was  my  father”  (R.  V.,  margin).  The  reference  seems  to  be  to 
Jacob,  though  possibly  Abraham  is  intended.  In  either  case,  it 
shows  that  the  Hebrews  recognized  that  there  wTas  an  Aramaean 
strain  in  their  ancestry.  Perhaps  the  Habiri  were  Aramaeans,  or 
were  allied  with  Aramaeans. 

At  all  events,  in  the  struggles  that  ensued,  little  by  little  all 
allegiance  to  Egypt  was  thrown  off  by  the  Palestinians.  Letters 

1  See  Chapter  I,  p.  29. 

*See  pp.  79,  80,  and  345. 

*  See  the  letters  of  its  king  translated  in  Part  II,  p.  345,  f. 

4  Chapter  XIII. 

6  See  Chapter  III,  p.  78,  f. 

6  See  Part  II,  p.  349,  f. 


114 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


to  Egypt  ceased  to  be  written,  our  sources  fail  us,  and  for  more 
than  forty  years  we  can  only  conjecture  what  was  happening  in 
Palestine. 

(3)  Seti  I. — With  the  accession  of  Seti  I  of  the  nineteenth  Egyp¬ 
tian  dynasty,  who  ruled  from  1313  to  1292  b.  c.,  some  knowledge  of 
events  in  Palestine  begins  once  more  to  come  to  us.  Seti  in  his 
first  year  entered  Asia,  captured  an  unnamed  walled  town  on  the 
border  of  the  desert,  pushed  northward  and  took  the  towns  in  the 
Plain  of  Jezreel,  crossed  the  Jordan  and  conquered  cities  in  the 
Hauran,  where  he  set  up  a  pillar,  discovered  there  a  few  years  since 
by  Principal  George  Adam  Smith;  he  then  turned  west  and  con¬ 
quered  a  city  on  the  slopes  of  the  Lebanon  mountains.1  This 
campaign  regained  for  Egypt  all  of  Palestine  and  southern  Phoenicia. 
In  his  third  year  Seti  was  again  in  Asia.  On  this  campaign  he 
overthrew  the  kingdom  of  the  Amorites  in  northern  Galilee.  They 
occupied  the  city  of  Kedesh  in  Naphtali  (Josh.  19  :  37).  This  city 
Seti  besieged  and  took. 

(4)  Ramses  II. — -Thus  at  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Ramses 
II,  who  ruled  from  1292-1225  b.  c.,  all  Palestine  was  subject  to 
Egypt.  The  practical  defeat  of  Ramses  by  the  Hittites  at  Kadesh 
on  the  Orontes  in  his  fifth  year,  however,  caused  all  Palestine  to 
revolt,  and  Ramses  was  compelled  to  undertake  the  reconquest  of 
the  land.  This  he  accomplished  between  his  fifth  and  eighth 
years,  beginning  with  the  Philistine  cities  and  overrunning  the 
whole  country  to  the  Hauran,  where  he  set  up  a  pillar,  as  his 
father  had  previously  done.2  So  far  as  we  know,  Palestine  re¬ 
mained  quietly  under  the  rule  of  Ramses  during  the  remainder  of 
his  long  reign. 

Ramses  II,  like  Thothmes  III,  left  on  record  a  long  list  of  cities 
conquered  by  him  in  Asia.  Of  these  the  following  are  Palestinian 
towns  mentioned  in  the  Bible:3  Hammath  (Josh.  19  : 35),  Beth- 
shean  (Josh.  17  :  11),  Beth-anath  (Josh.  19:38),  and  Hadasha 
(Josh.  15  :  37).  Pella,  a  town  in  the  Jordan  valley  not  mentioned 
in  the  Bible,  also  occurs  in  his  list,  and  there  is  also  a  possible 
mention  of  Jacobel  in  a  corrupted  form. 

(5)  Merneptah. — After  the  accession  of  Merneptah,  the  succes¬ 
sor  of  Ramses  II,  a  rebellion  broke  out.  This  was  about  1223  b.  c. 


1  See  Breasted’s  History  of  Egypt,  New  York,  1909.  p.  414. 

*  See  Breasted’s  Ancient  Records,  Egypt,  III,  §§  81  and  140. 

*  Translated  from  W.  Max  Muller’s  Egyptological  Researches,  Washington,  1906,  pi.  59,  ff. 


PALESTINE’S  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  HISTORY  115 


Merneptah  put  down  the  rebellion,  but  in  the  struggle  caused  by  it, 
he  was  compelled  to  reduce  Gezer  by  siege.  It  was  on  this  cam¬ 
paign  that  he  came  into  contact  with  Israel  and  defeated  her.1 
Some  think  the  Israelites  whom  he  mentioned  were  those  who 
more  than  a  century  and  a  quarter  before  had  been  battling 
against  Jerusalem;  others,  that  they  were  those  who  had  just 
escaped  from  Egypt. 

The  reign  of  Merneptah  was  followed  by  some  years  of  unstable 
government  in  Egypt,  but  this  does  not  appear  to  have  been  a  suffi¬ 
ciently  long  period  for  great  changes  to  occur  in  Palestine.  Order 
was  restored  in  Egypt  by  Setnakht  about  1200  b.  c.,  and  his  son  and 
successor,  Ramses  III,  1198-1167  b.  c.,  reasserted  his  sovereignty 
over  Palestine  and  Phoenicia. 

(6)  Ramses  III. — Ramses  III  found  himself  confronted  with  a 
peculiar  situation.  The  Egyptian  Delta  and  the  coasts  of  Palestine 
were  invaded  by  hordes  of  people  from  over  the  sea.  As  early  as 
the  reign  of  Ramses  II  the  Egyptians  had  employed  men  from  the 
island  of  Sardinia  as  mercenaries ;  there  must  then  have  been  inter¬ 
course  with  distant  islands  across  the  sea. 

6.  The  Philistines. — Now,  however,  hordes  of  Sicilians,  Danaoi, 
Peleset  (Philistines),  Thekel,  and  many  other  tribes  came  from  over 
the  sea.  These  tribes  came  in  part  from  islands,  such  as  Sicily 
and  Crete,  and  in  part  from  the  coasts  of  Asia  Minor.  Ramses  III 
was  compelled  to  fight  with  them,  both  in  the  Delta  and  in  Phoenicia. 
On  the  walls  of  his  temple  at  Medinet  Habu  he  has  left  us  pictures 
of  the  Philistines.  A  remarkable  inscribed  disc  was  found  a  few 
years  since  at  Phaestos  in  Crete.  It  is  printed  with  a  sort  of  mov¬ 
able  type,  and  each  character  is  a  pictograph  or  hieroglyph.  Prof. 
Macalister  has  shown  that  it  is,  in  all  probability,  a  contract  tablet.2 
When  the  tablet  was  first  published  Eduard  Meyer  pointed  out3 
that  a  frequently  recurring  sign,  which  is  apparently  the  deter¬ 
minative  for  “man”  or  “person,”  has  the  same  sort  of  upstanding 
hair  as  the  Philistines  pictured  by  Ramses  III  on  the  walls  of  Medi¬ 
net  Habu.  This  tablet,  accordingly,  was  written  by  Philistines  or 
their  near  kindred.  In  this  view  there  is  general  agreement  among 
scholars.  Amos  declared  that  the  Lord  brought  the  Philistines 

1  See  Part  II,  p.  311. 

2  See  Sir  Arthur  Evans,  Scripta  Minoa,  Oxford,  1909,  pp.  280,  282,  and  R.  A.  S.  Macalister  in 
the  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  Vol.  XXX,  §  C,  p.  342;  also  his  Philistines,  Their  His¬ 
tory  and  Civilization,  London,  1913,  pp.  84,  85. 

3  See  Sitzungsberichte  of  the  Berlin  Academy,  1909,  p.  1022,  f. 


116 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


from  Caphtor  (Amos  9:7).  If  this  disc  was  written  in  Crete,  it 
would  follow  that  Caphtor  was  Crete.  It  is  thought  possible  by 
some  that  the  disc  was  written  in  Asia  Minor,  whence  it  was  carried 
to  Crete;  in  that  case  Caphtor  would  be  a  name  for  Asia  Minor.1 
At  all  events,  this  inscription  makes  it  clear  that  the  Philistines 
came  from  over  the  sea,  and  that  their  point  of  departure  was 
either  Crete  or  Asia  Minor.  Ramses  III  reveals  to  us  through  his 
inscriptions  the  Philistines  in  the  act  of  migrating  into  Palestine. 
With  them  were  the.  Thekel,  who  afterward  were  absorbed  by  the 
Philistines;  (see  Figs.  36  and  38). 

In  his  struggle  with  these  tribes  Ramses  'III  was  compelled  to 
carry  the  war  into  Asia?  where  he  overcame  and  defeated  them. 
In  commemoration  of  this  event  he  has  left  a  list  of  places  which 
he  conquered  in  Asia.  Most  of  them,  so  far  as  they  can  be  identi¬ 
fied,  were  further  north  than  Palestine,  but  the  following  are 
names  of  places  mentioned  in  the  Bible:2  Seir  (Gen.  14  :  6,  etc.), 
Caineh  (Amos  6  :  2),  or  Calno  (Isa.  10  :  9),  Tyre,  Carchemish,  Beth- 
Dagon  (Josh.  15  : 41),  Kir-Bezek,  probably  the  same  as  Bezek 
(Judges  1:5),  Hadashah  (Josh.  15  :  37),  Ardon  (1  Chron.  2  :  18), 
Beer  (cf.  Num.  21  :  16),  Senir  (Deut.  3  :  9),  Zobebah  (1  Chron. 
4:8),  Gether  (Gen.  10  :  23),  and  Ar  (Num.  21  :  15;  Isa.  15  :  1,  etc.). 

After  Ramses  III  the  Egyptian  empire  became  too  weak  to  inter¬ 
fere.  in  Palestinian  affairs.  In  the  chronology  followed  by  many 
scholars  today  it  was  about  this  time  that  the  Hebrews  completed 
their  conquest  of  the  country  and  the  age  of  the  Judges  began. 

7.  The  Hebrews. — On  their  way  into  Palestine  the  Hebrews,  as 
already  noted,  invaded  and  conquered  a  kingdom  of  the  Amorites 
which  lay  to  the  east  of  the  Jordan  and  had  its  capital  at  Heshbon. 
(See  Num.  21:21  and  Deut.  1  :  4,  etc.).  This  kingdom  was  a  sur¬ 
vival  of  the  ancient  Amorite  occupation  of  the  land.  The  Amorites 
composing  it  had  not  been  absorbed  or  displaced  by  more  recent 
pre-Hebrew  invaders. 

It  is  stated  in  Judges  1  :  27-36  that  there  were  a  number  of  cities 
from  which  the  Israelites  did  not,  at  the  time  of  their  conquest, 
drive  out  the  inhabitants.  The  principal  excavations  in  Palestine 
have  had  to  do  with  cities  which  were  not  conquered  by  Hebrews 
at  this  time — Taanach,  Megiddo,  and  Gezer.  We  are  told  in  Josh. 


1  Caphtor  is  the  same  as  Keftiu  of  the  Egyptian  inscriptions,  but  it  is  uncertain  whether  Keftiu 
refers  to  Crete  or  Asia  Minor. 

2  Translated  from  W.  Max  Muller’s  Egyptological  Researches,  I,  pi.  64,  f. 


PALESTINE’S  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  HISTORY  117 


10  :  33  that  when  Horam,  King  of  Gezer,  came  to  the  aid  of  the 
king  of  Lachish,  Joshua  “smote  him  and  his  people  till  he  left  none 
remaining.”  As  nothing  is  said  of  the  capture  of  Gezer,  this  must 
refer  only  to  the  force  which  went  to  the  aid  of  Lachish.  This 
view  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  in  the  time  of  David,  Gezer  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  Philistines.  (See  1  Chron.  20  :  4.)  Gezer  did 
not  come  into  the  hands  of  the  Hebrews  until  the  time  of  Solomon, 
when  Solomon’s  Egyptian  father-in-law  conquered  it  and  gave  it 
to  him.  Mr.  Macalister  found  evidence  that  at  about  this  time 
there  was  a  considerable  increase  of  the  population  of  Gezer,  which 
seems  to  confirm  the  statement  of  Judges  1  :  29  that  Canaanites 
and  Israelites  dwelt  together  there.  This  evidence  consisted  in  the 
crowding  together  of  houses,  so  that,  as  many  new  ones  were  built, 
they  became  smaller.  New  houses  also  encroached  upon  the 
land  of  the  “high  place.”1  There  was  evidently  an  increase  of  the 
population  such  as  an  influx  of  Hebrews  would  account  for.  Evi¬ 
dence  of  Hebrew  conquest  seems  also  to  have  come  to  light  in  the 
capture  and  burning  of  Jericho2  and  Bethshemesh,3  which  the  exca¬ 
vations  have  revealed. 

8.  Philistine  Civilization. — The  next  source  of  information 

which  archaeology  furnishes  us  concerning  Palestine  is  the  report  of 
Wenamon,  translated  in  Part  II,  p.  352,  ff.  Wenamon  visited  Dor 
and  Gebal  about  1100  b.  c.  He  found  a  king  of  the  Thekel  estab¬ 
lished  in  Dor,  so  that  the  Philistines  were  probably  by  this  time 
established  in  the  whole  maritime  plain.  1 

With  the  coming  of  the  Philistines  into  Palestine,  new  influences 
were  introduced  into  the  country.  These  are  most  apparent  in  the 
pottery  that  has  come  down  to  us.  (See  Chapter  VIII.)  The 
Philistines,  whether  they  came  from  Crete  or  from  the  coasts  of  the 
Aegean  Sea,  had  been  influenced  by  those  higher  forms  of  art  which 
were  in  later  times  developed  into  the  superb  Greek  forms.  Just 
at  the  time  when  history  tells  us  the  Philistines  came  into  Palestine, 
we  begin  to  find  in  its  mounds  the  remains  of  a  more  ornate  pottery. 

9.  The  Hebrew  Kingdoms. — As  the  Philistines  filled  the  maritime 
plain,  and  began  to  push  into  the  hill  country,  the  Israelites  formed 
a  kingdom  by  which  to  oppose  them.  The  kingdom  of  Saul  ac¬ 
complished  little,  but  that  of  David,  which  began  about  1000  b.  c., 
overcame  the  Philistines  and  all  other  peoples  adjacent  to  the 

See  Macalister,  The  Excavation  of  Gezer,  I,  p.  21. 

2  See  p.  99.  a  See  p.  95. 


118 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Hebrews  and  established  an  Israelitish  empire.1  This  was  possible 
because  just  at  that  time  both  Egypt  and  Assyria  were  weak. 
Before  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Solomon  this  empire  began  to  disin¬ 
tegrate  (1  Kings  11  :  14-25),  and  at  his  death,  about  937  b.  c.,  it 
faded  entirely  away  and  the  kingdom  was  divided  into  the  kingdoms 
of  Israel  and  Judah.  The  history  of  these  kingdoms  is  given  in  out¬ 
line  in  the  Bible  and  is  probably  familiar  to  every  reader  of  this  book. 

These  kingdoms,  frequently  at  war  with  each  other,  were  first 
invaded  by  Sheshonk  (Shishak)  of  Egypt  (1  Kings  14  :  25),  who 
made  them  his  vassals  (see  Part  II,  p.  359,  f.),  and  in  later  centuries 
were  made  subject  to  Assyria.  Israel  suffered  this  fate  first  in 
842  b.  c.,  and  Judah  in  732.  On  account  of  her  rebellions,  the 
kingdom  of  Israel  was  overthrown  by  Assyria  in  the  year  722  b.  c. 
After  Assyria  became  weak,  Judah  was  made  subject  to  Egypt  in 
608  b.  c.,  but  passed  under  the  sway  of  Babylon  in  the  year  604. 
Because  she  repeatedly  rebelled  against  Babylon,  the  prominent 
Judaeans  were  carried  captive  partly  in  597  b.  c.  and  partly  in  586, 
and  in  the  yearlast  mentioned  Jerusalem  was  overthrown  and  its 
temple  destroyed. 

Excavations  have  brought  to  light  much  evidence  as  to  the 
houses,  high  places,  and  the  mode  of  life  of  this  time,2  as  well  as  evi¬ 
dence  of  how  Shishak  fought  against  Rehoboam,  Shalmaneser  III 
against  Ahab  and  Jehu,  Tiglath-pileser  IV  against  Menahem  and  Pe- 
kah,  Shalmaneser  V  and  Sargon  against  Hoshea,  and  Sennacherib 
against  Judah.  It  has  also  told  us  much  about  Nebuchadrezzar.3 

10.  The  Exile  and  After. — The  Babylonian  Exile  wTas  brought 
by  Cyrus  to  a  possible  end  in  538  b.  c.  This  is  also  illuminated  by 
that  which  exploration  has  brought  to  light.4  The  temple  was 
rebuilt  through  the  efforts  of  Haggai  and  Zechariah  during  the  years 
520-517  b.  c.  In  444  b.  c.  Nehemiah  rebuilt  the  walls  of  Jerusalem, 
as  related  in  Neh.  1-7.  Thus  under  the  Persian  empire  Judah  was 
re-established.  It  consisted  of  a  little  country* around  Jerusalem; 
it  was  poor  and  weak,  but  was  aided  by  money  sent  from  Babylonia 
by  Jews  who  were  still  resident  there. 

(1)  The  Samaritans. — In  the  neighborhood  of  Samaria  was  a 
people  who  were  descended  in  part  from  Hebrews  whom  Sargon  did 
not  carry  away  and  in  part  from  the  Gentiles  whom  he  brought  in. 
These  people  worshiped  Jehovah.  (See  2  Kings  17  :  2T-34.) 

1  See  the  books  of  I  and  II  Samuel.  3  See  Part  II,  Chapter  XVII. 

2  See  Chapters  VI,  IX,  and  XI.  4  See  Part  II,  p.  385,  f. 


PALESTINE’S  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  HISTORY  119 


When  the  little  Jewish  state  had  been  re-established  at  Jerusalem, 
they  wished  to  participate  in  Jewish  worship  and  to  be  recognized 
as  good  Jews.  Since  they  were  not  of  pure  Hebrew  descent,  the 
Jews  would  not  permit  this,  so  they  at  last  desisted,  built  a  temple 
to  Jehovah  on  Mount  Gerizim  (see  John  4  :  20),  and  became  a 
large  and  flourishing  sect.1  They  based  their  worship  on  the  Penta¬ 
teuch,  and  were  so  much  like  the  Jews  that  there  was  constant 
friction  between  them.  This  friction  is  reflected  in  Luke  9  :  51-54, 
John  4  :  9,  and  in  many  passages  of  the  Talmud.  It  was  this  sect 
that  occupied  Samaria  in  the  time  of  Christ  and  made  it  in  his  day 
a  distinct  division  of  the  country. 

(2)  Alexander  the  Great  and  His  Successors. — In  332  b.  c.  Pales¬ 
tine  passed  from  Persian  rule  to  that  of  Alexander  the  Great. 
After  his  death  in  323  it  came  under  the  rule  of  his  general,  Ptolemy 
Lagi,  who  ultimately  became  king  of  Egypt.  Later,  220-198  b.  c., 
there  was  a  struggle  for  the  possession  of  Palestine  between  the 
descendants  of  Ptolemy  and  the  house  of  Seleucus,  another  general 
of  Alexander,  who  had  established  a  kingdom  with  its  capital  at 
Antioch.  During  these  wars  the  Jews  suffered  greatly.  Finally 
the  Seleucid  king  won,  and  Palestine  passed  definitely  under  the 
control  of  Syria.  With  the  coming  of  Alexander  new  cultural 
influences  had  entered  Palestine  from  the  Hellenic  world,  and 
dowm  to  168  b.  c.  such  influences  wrere  eagerly  welcomed  by  a 
portion  of  the  Jews. 

(3)  The  Maccabees. — In  that  year,  howrever,  Antiochus  IV  un¬ 
dertook  to  forcibly  Hellenize  the  Jews  and  to  blot  out  their  religion. 
This  the  more  faithful  Jews  resented,  and  a  great  revolt  ensued. 
This  revolt  had  as  its  first  successful  general  Judas,  son  of  Matta- 
thias,  who,  because  of  his  victories,  was  surnamed  makkab,  or  the 
Hammer;  it  is,  therefore,  known  as  the  Maccabsean  revolt.  With 
varying  fortunes  the  struggle  dragged  on  for  25  years.2  It  finally 
succeeded  because  of  civil  wars  in  Syria.  On  account  of  these 
each  faction  favored  the  Jews,  and  Syria  became  continually 
weaker.  In  143  b.  c.  the  Jews  once  more  achieved  their  inde¬ 
pendence  under  Simon,  brother  of  Judas,  whom  they  ordained 
should  be  Prince  and  High  Priest  forever.3 

1  See  J.  A.  Montgomery,  The  Samaritans,  the  Earliest  Jewish  Sect,  Their  History,.  Theology,  and 
Literature,  Philadelphia,  1907. 

*  For  the  narrative  of  the  struggle,  see  the  book  of  I  Maccabees,  and  S.  Mathews,  History  of 
the  New  Testament  Times  in  Palestine,  New  York,  1908. 

*  See  I  Macc.  14  :  41. 


120 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


(4)  The  Asmonceans. — The  attaining  of  independence  was  ac¬ 
companied  by  a  great  wave  of  racial  and  religious  enthusiasm.  Not 
since  the  days  of  Ahaz,  in  733  b.  c.,  had  Judah  been  free  of  foreign 
domination.  At  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Simon,  it  was 
still  but  a  small  territory  around  Jerusalem.  Hebron  and  all  to 
the  south  of  it  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Edomites,  who  three  cen¬ 
turies  before  had  been  driven  out  of  Edom  by  the  Nabathaeans 
Simon  began  to  enlarge  their  territory.  He  won  Gezer  and  Joppa. 
John  Hyrcanus,  his  son  and  successor,  135-105  b.  c.,  conqueied  the 
Edomites,  and  compelled  them  to  become  Jews;  he  also  conquered 
and  destroyed  Samaria  in  109  b  c.  He  began  the  conquest  of 
Galilee.  His  son,  Aristobulus  I  105-104  b.  c.,  assumed  the  title  of 
king.  A  regal  dynasty  was  thus  founded,  which  is  known  as  the 
Asmonasan  or  Hasmonaean  dynasty,  i.  e.,  the  “Simonites”  or  de¬ 
scendants  of  Simon. 

Alexander  Jannaeus,  104-79  b  c.,  completed  the  conquest  of 
Galilee  and  the  region  to  the  east  of  the  Jordan,  and  extended  the 
bounds  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Asmonaeans  to  practically  the  same 
limits  as  those  of  the  kingdom  of  David.  The  Galileans  were  also 
Judaized,  as  the  Edomites  had  been.  This  period  of  Jewish 
prosperity  continued  to  69  b.  c.  Through  it  all,  in  spite  of  the 
religious  zeal  of  the  Jews,  Hellenic  influences  made  themselves 
felt  in  many  aspects  of  the  country’s  life. 

11.  The  Coming  of  Rome. — On  the  death  of  Queen  Alexandra 
in  69  b.  c.,  her  sons,  John  Hyrcanus  II  and  Aristobulus  II,  both 
aspired  to  the  supreme  power,  and  till  63  b.  c.  civil  war  ensued. 
In  65  b.  c.  the  Romans  had  terminated  the  independence  of  Syria 
and  made  it  a  Roman  province  In  63  b  c.  both  the  Jewish  broth¬ 
ers  appealed  to  Pompey,  who  had  come  to  Damascus.  Aristobulus, 
however,  acted  treacherously,  and  Pompey  marched  upon  Jerusalem 
and  took  it  by  siege.  Jewish  independence  was  thus  forever  lost, 
and  Palestine  passed  under  the  yoke  of  Rome.  Down  to  37  b.  c. 
the  country  experienced  many  vicissitudes,  as  the  struggles  of  the 
Roman  triumvirs  were  reflected  in  it.  These  vicissitudes  cul¬ 
minated  in  the  year  40  b.  c.,  when  Orodes  I,  King  of  Parthia,  cap¬ 
tured  Jerusalem  and  placed  Antigonus,  a  son  of  Aristobulus  II,  on 
the  throne.  Antigonus  was  king  and  a  vassal  of  Parthia  for  three 
years. 

(1)  The  Herods. — In  37  b.  c.  Herod  the  Great,  whose  father 
had  served  under  the  Romans,  by  the  aid  of  a  Roman  army  fur- 


PALESTINE’S  ARCHAEOLOGICAL  HISTORY  121 


nished  him  by  Mark  Antony,  drove  Antigonous  out  and  began  his 
notable  reign.  Herod  was  a  man  of  great  energy,  an  Edomite  by 
descent,  whose  ancestors  had  become  Jews  by  compulsion.  While 
professedly  a  Jew,  he  was- deeply  enamored  of  the  Graeco-Roman 
culture.  He  wrung  taxes  from  the  people  in  order  to  beautify 
Palestine  with  cities  and  temples  built  on  Hellenic  models.  He 
rebuilt,  among  other  undertakings,  the  Jewish  temple  at  Jerusalem 
and  the  city  of  Samaria.  This  last  he  named  Sebaste,  the  Greek  for 
Augusta,  naming  it  in  honor  of  the  Emperor  Augustus.  He  built 
a  heathen  temple  there,  surrounded  the  city  with  a  colonnaded 
street,  many  of  the  columns  of  which  are  still  standing,  and  other¬ 
wise  adorned  it.  He  built  for  himself  a  palace  at  Jericho,  and  an¬ 
other  on  the  top  of  a  hill  to  the  southeast  of  Bethlehem,  today  called 
Gebel  Fureidis;  (see  Figs.  31  and  39). 

Upon  his  death,  in  4  b.  c.,  his  kingdom  was  divided,  Archelaus 
receiving  Judah  and  Samaria;  Antipas,  Galilee  and  Peraea,  and 
Philip,  Iturea  and  Trachonitis.  None  of  his  sons  was  permitted 
by  the  Romans  to  be  called  king,  but  all  bore  the  title  of  “tetrarch.” 
The  rule  of  Archelaus  proved  so  unbearable  that  in  6  a.  d.  Augustus 
banished  him  to  Gaul  and  placed  Judaea  and  Samaria  under  Procu¬ 
rators,  who  were  responsible  to  the  Proconsuls  of  the  province  of 
Syria.  Pontius  Pilate  was  the  fifth  of  these  Procurators.  After 
the  death  of  Herod  Antipas  in  39  a.  d.,  the  Emperor  Caligula  made 
Herod  Agrippa  I,  a  grandson  of  Herod  the  Great,  king  of  the 
dominions  over  which  that  monarch  had  ruled.  Agrippa  assumed 
control  in  41  and  ruled  till  his  death  in  44  a.  d.  His  death  is  de¬ 
scribed  in  Acts  12  .23.  After  his  death  the  whole  country  was 
governed  by  Procurators. 

(2)  The  Destruction  of  Jerusalem  in  JO  A.D. — Roman  rule  was 
always  distasteful  to  the  Jews,  and  as  the  years  passed  they  became 
more  and  more  restive.  These  smouldering  fires  broke  into  the 
flame  of  open  rebellion  in  the  year  66  a.  d.,  and  after  four  years  of 
terrible  warfare  Jerusalem  was  captured  and  destroyed  in  70  a.  d. 
The  temple,  also  razed  to  the  ground,  has  never  been  rebuilt.  The 
country  about  Jerusalem  was  peopled  by  some  of  the  poorer  of  the 
peasantry,  and  the  tenth  Roman  legion  remained  in  the  city  for  a 
long  time  to  keep  order  in  that  region. 

12.  Later  History. — In  132  a.  d.,  in  the  reign  of  Hadrian,  a  man 
called  Bar  Chocaba,  or  the  “Son  of  the  Star,”  came  forward,  claim¬ 
ing  to  be  the  Messiah,  and  headed  a  Jewish  revolt.  So  fiercely  did 


122 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


the  Jews  fight  that  the  insurrection  was  not  quelled  by  Rome  until 
135  A.  d.  When  it  was  finally  put  down,  Hadrian  determined  to 
blot  the  name  of  Jerusalem  from  the  map.  He  rebuilt  Jerusalem, 
making  it  a  Roman  colony,  named  it  Elia  Capitolina,  and  built  a 
temple  to  Jupiter  on  the  spot  where  the  temple  of  Jehovah  had 
formerly  stood.  No  Jew  was  permitted  to  come  near  the  city. 
Jerusalem  as  built  by  Hadrian  continued  until  the  time  of  Con¬ 
stantine,  and  the  form  thus  imposed  upon  it  lasted  much  longer. 

When  Constantine  made  Christianity  the  religion  of  the  empire, 
both  he  and  his  mother  began  to  take  an  interest  in  the  Holy  City 
and  the  Holy  Land.  Other  Christians  followed  them.  The  Church 
of  the  Holy  Sepulcher  was  built,  and  the  temple  of  Jupiter  built 
by  Hadrian  was  turned  into  a  Christian  church.  Pilgrimages  to  the 
Holy  Land  began,  and  monasteries,  churches,  and  bishoprics  in  time 
sprang  up  over  all  the  country.  Thus  for  three  hundred  years  the 
influences  which  were  felt  in  Palestine  emanated  from  Byzantium  or 
Constantinople.  In  615  a.  d.  the  land  was  overrun  by  Chosroes  II 
of  Persia,  who  captured  Jerusalem  and  destroyed  many  of  its 
churches.  The  Persians  held  it  until  628,  when  the  Byzantine 
kings  regained  it.  The  control  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Christians  wras, 
however,  of  short  duration,  for  in  636  Palestine  was  captured  by  the 
Mohammedans,  and  with  the  exception  of  89  years  has  ever  since 
been  under  Mohammedan  control.1  During  these  long  centuries 
the  country  was  ruled  by  the  Caliphs  of  Medina,  Damascus,  and 
Bagdad;  by  the  Buvide  Sultans,  the  Fatimite  Caliphs  of  Egypt,  and 
the  Seljuk  Turks.  The  cruelties  inflicted  by  these  last  rulers  upon 
Christians  led  to  the  Crusades,  the  first  of  which  established  the 
Latin  kingdom  of  Jerusalem,2  which  continued  from  1099  to  1188 
A.  d.  This  kingdom,  organized  on  the  feudal  basis  then  existing  in 
western  Europe,  extended  over  all  of  Palestine  and  Syria,  including 
Antioch,  and  for  nearly  half  the  time,  Edessa  beyond  the  Euphrates. 
Its  existence  marks  an  epoch  in  the  archaeology  of  the  country. 

Since  the  fall  of  this  Latin  kingdom,  Palestine  has  remained 
under  Moslem  control.  First  the  Eyyubide  Sultans  of  Egypt,  then 
the  Mamelukes  of  that  same  land  held  sway.  In  1517  the  Ottoman 
Turks  captured  it,  and  have  since  inflicted  their  misrule  upon  it. 
What  fortunes  the  great  war  now  raging  may  bring  to  this  land  of 
sacred  associations,  we  await  with  intense  interest. 


1  For  details  see  Guy  Le  Strange,  Palestine  Under  the  Moslems,  London,  1890. 
For  details  see  C.  R.  Conder,  The  Latin  Kingdom  of  Jerusalem,  London,  1897. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  CITIES  OF  PALESTINE 

Their  Sixes.  The  Walls.  The  Stone  Work.  Houses.  Palaces:  At  Taanach. 
At  Samaria.  At  Jericho.  At  Megiddo.  Foundation  Sacrifices.  City  Gates. 
Water  Supply:  Springs.  Underground  tunnels.  Reservoirs. 

1.  Their  Sites. — The  cities  of  Palestine  were  usually  built  on 
hills.  These  elevations,  surmounted  as  they  were  by  walls, 
created  a  natural  means  of  defence  from  attack;  (see  Fig.  33). 
Even  more  important  than  an  elevated  situation  was  a  water 
supply,  hence  all  Palestinian  cities  of  importance  are  near  springs. 
The  necessity  of  being  near  a  spring  led,  in  some  cases,  to  the  erec¬ 
tion  of  a  city  on  a  level  plain.  This  was  the  case  with  Jericho;  the 
only  mound  at  its  site  is  that  created  by  the  city  itself. 

The  hills  on  which  the  cities  were  erected  varied  in  height. 
That  at  Megiddo  rose  to  a  height  of  but  45  to  90  feet  above  the  sur¬ 
rounding  land,  but  even  this  elevation  was  a  great  protection  from 
the  simple  methods  of  attack  known  to  ancient  warfare.  The  hill 
Ophel,  the  site  of  Jebusite  Jerusalem,  rises  today  from  60  to  150 
feet  above  the  valley  of  the  Kidron,  and  in  ancient  times  that  valley 
was  from  20  to  50  feet  deeper  than  it  is  now.  The  same  hill  was 
separated  from  the  land  on  the  west  by  a  valley  the  bed  of  which 
in  ancient  times  was  from  50  to  100  feet  below  the  top  of  the  hill. 
The  hill  on  which  Samaria  was  situated  rose  some  300  feet  above  the 
surrounding  valley  on  all  sides  except  the  east,  and  when  fortified 
presented  such  an  impregnable  front  that  it  took  even  an  Assyrian 
army  three  years  to  capture  it.  (2  Kings  17:5.)  In  the  Seleucid 
and  Roman  periods,  when  some  cities  expanded  in  size,  the  hill¬ 
tops  were  sometimes  abandoned  and  they  spread  out  over  the  plain. 
This  was  the  case  with  Gerasa  and  Philadelphia  (Rabbah  Ammon).1 
But  “a  city  set  on  a  hill”  (Matt.  5  :  14)  was  a  common  feature  of  the 
Palestinian  landscape. 

2.  The  Walls. — The  walls  by  which  the  cities  were  surrounded 
varied  according  to  the  advancement  of  the  different  periods,  and 

1  See  Chapter  XIV. 


123 


124 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


according  to  the  importance  of  the  place.  As  has  already  been 
pointed  out  in  Chapter  V,  the  first  wall  at  Gezer  was  but  6  feet  high 
and  2  feet  thick,  and  had  a  sloping  bank  of  earth  packed  against  it 
on  the  outside.  This  bank  was  6  feet  6  inches  thick  at  the  base  and 
was  covered  with  a  facing  of  stone.  In  the  Amorite  period  a  wall 
13  feet  thick  was  erected  at  Gezer,  in  which  towers  were  constructed 
about  every  90  feet.  These  towers  were  24  X  41  feet.  Their  height 
is,  of  course,  unknown.  This  wall  was  probably  built  about  2500 
b.  c.  and  formed  the  defense  of  the  city  for  a  thousand  years.  By 
that  time  the  tops  of  the  houses  probably  protruded  above  the  wall, 
and  the  population  had  increased  so  that  more  space  was  needed. 
This  wall  was,  accordingly,  replaced  by  another  built  outside  of  it. 
Much  of  the  material  of  which  the  old  wall  was  constructed  went 
into  the  new  wall,  which  was  approximately  14  feet  thick  and  con¬ 
tained  occasional  towers.  At  some  time  a  part  of  this  wall  had 
been  destroyed,  and  then  rebuilt.  Probably  at  the  time  of  this 
rebuilding,  additional  towers  had  been  inserted  at  different  points. 
The  stones  of  these  towers  touched  those  of  the  wall  without  being 
articulated  with  them.  It  has  been  conjectured1  that  these  towTers 
were  a  part  of  the  repairs  made  by  King  Solomon  after  the  town  had 
been  captured  by  his  Egyptian  father-in-law  and  presented  to 
Solomon.  (See  1  Kings  9  :  16,  17.)  Still  later  an  attempt  was 
made  to  strengthen  the  weakness  caused  by  the  unclosed  seam  be¬ 
tween  the  towers  and  the  wall  by  constructing  around  the  towers 
rude  bastions.  (See  Figs.  40, 46.)  Mr.  Macalister  conjectures  that 
this  was  done  by  the  Syrian  General  Bacchides  when  he  hastily 
fortified  Gezer  and  occupied  it  in  160  b.  c.2  (1  Macc.  9  :  52.) 

At  Lachish,  Petrie  found  massive  city  walls,  though  he  did  not 
describe  them  in  detail.3  At  Taanach,  Sellin  found  a  strong  city 
wall,  but  did  not  attempt  to  trace  it  about  the  tell.4  Schumacher 
devoted  considerable  attention  to  the  city  walls  of  Megiddo,  a  part 
of  which  were  built  of  bricks.5  At  Tell  es-Safi  (Gath?)  the  outlines 
of  the  city  walls  were  traced,  as  they  were  at  Tell  el-Judeideh.6  At 
Samaria  a  part  of  the  Roman  wall  of  the  time  of  Herod  was  found; 
lower  down  in  the  mound  remains  of  a  Babylonian  wall  (see  2  Kings 


1  See  p.  94. 

2  On  these  walls,  see  Macalister,  Excavation  of  Gezer,  I,  236-256. 

8  Petrie,  Tell  el-Hesy,  p.  17  and  Plates  2  and  3. 

4  See  his  Tell  Taanek,  p.  13. 

6  See  p.  96  and  Fig.  41. 

6  See  p.  91. 


THE  CITIES  OF  PALESTINE 


125 


17  :  24),  beneath  which  the  excavators  recognized  the  Hebrew  wall.1 
City  wTalls  were  found,  too,  at  Bethshemesh,2  but  of  especial  interest 
to  the  student  of  the  Bible  are  the  walls  of  Jericho.  Here,  as  at 
Megiddo,  the  walls  were  constructed  in  part  of  brick.  They  had  an 
average  thickness  of  13  feet.  The  Canaanitish  wall  was  traced 
around  three  sides  of  the  mound.  It  was  strengthened  by  occa¬ 
sional  towers.3  On  the  east,  next  to  the  spring,  they  had  entirely 
disappeared.  This  must  not  be  pressed  into  a  confirmation  of 
Josh.  6  :  20,  that  the  walls  fell  down  flat,  for  the  later  Israelitish 
wall  has  disappeared  on  that  side  of  the  mound  also.  Later,  when 
in  the  days  of  Ahab  the  Israelites  rebuilt  the  city  (1  Kings  16  :  34), 
they  did  not  place  the  wall  on  the  old  line,  but  enclosed  a  consider¬ 
ably  larger  space.  This  wall  was  constructed  partly  of  bricks,  but 
mostly  of  stone.4  The  walls  of  Jerusalem  will  be  treated  in  Chap¬ 
ter  XIII.  At  the  northwest  corner  of  the  Canaanitish  wall  was  a 
tower  enclosed  by  two  brick  walls;  the  outer  wall  was  a  little  more 
than  4  feet  thick;  the  inner,  about  io  feet. 

3.  The  Stone  Work. — The  kind  of  stones  used  in  city  walls 
varied  with  the  circumstances  and  the  degree  of  civilization.  The 
walls  of  the  stone  age  were  naturally  made  of  small  undressed  stones. 
The  Amorites  began  the  use  of  cut  stone.  Their  blocks  are  often 
fairly  smooth  and  regular.  The  Amorite  wall  of  Gezer  was  made  of 
more  regular  stones  than  the  wall  of  the  Egyptian  period.5  In 
the  Israelitish  and  Jewish  periods  a  stone  with  an  embossed  edge 
was  often  used.  It  is  found  in  the  wall  of  Nehemiah,  excavated 
by  Bliss, — a  wall  made  of  stones  that  some  pre-exilic  king  had 
used  before, — and  appears  also  in  the  structures  of  Herod  the  Great. 
In  the  structures  of  Constantine  and  later  Byzantine  builders,  this 
type  of  stone  is  replaced  by  a  stone  with  a  perfectly  smooth  surface 
— much  more  smooth  than  anything  found  in  the  early  walls.  This 
type  of  stone  work  continued  through  the  crusading  period;  (see 
Figs.  253,  254.)  While  these  types  can  be  traced,  their  use  was 
not  altogether  regular.6 

The  areas  of  Palestinian  cities  in  the  early  time  were  very  small. 
All  of  Canaanite  Jericho  could  be  put  in  the  Colosseum  at  Rome! 

1  Harvard  Theological  Review,  III,  137. 

2  Palestine  Exploration  Fund’s  Annual,  II,  17,  f. 

3  Sellin  and  Watzinger’s  Jericho,  p.  29,  f.  and  Tafel  I. 

4  Ibid.,  54,  ff. 

6  See  Macalister,  Excavation  of  Gezer,  I,  244. 

8  See  Dickie,  in  Quarterly  Statement  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  1897,  61-67. 


126 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Megiddo,  one  of  the  largest  of  these  early  cities,  was  built  on  a 
mound  that  contained  only  about  eleven  acres,  and  Jebusite  Jeru¬ 
salem  was  built  on  a  ridge  that  in  ancient  times  contained  not  less 
than  nine  or  more  than  thirteen  acres. 

4.  Houses. — Within  these  small  areas  the  houses  were  crowded 
together,  as  in  the  modern  native  villages  of  Palestine,  separated 
only  by  narrow,  crooked  lanes.  One  may  see  in  Hebron  or  in 
some  parts  of  Jerusalem  similar  conditions  to  this  day.  There  was 
no  drainage;  refuse  was  thrown  into  the  streets.  The  cities  were 
ill-smelling  places.  The  wonder  is  that  the  mortality  was  not 
greater.  The  houses  in  the  central,  elevated  portion  of  Palestine 
were  usually  of  stone,  though  at  Gezer,  Jericho,  and  places  in  the 
lower-lying  portions  of  the  country  they  were  sometimes  of  brick. 
The  walls  of  the  stone  houses  were  constructed  of  rough  stones 
of  a  great  variety  of  sizes,  from  small  pebbles  to  large  boulders. 
Mortar  and  cement  were  never  used.  The  stones  were  set  in  mud. 
They  were  not  dressed  except  with  a  hammer  in  the  roughest  way. 
The  joints  between  them  were  wide  and  irregular.  Into  the  crev¬ 
ices  serpents  and  scorpions  might  crawl.  It  was  of  such  a  house 
that  Amos  says,  “a  man  .  .  .  leaned  his  hand  on  the  wall  and  a 
serpent  bit  him”  (5  :  19).  The  bricks  were  rarely  burned;  they 
were  simply  sun-dried,  and  had  no  more  cohesion  than  the  earth  in 
which  they  were  embedded.  The  houses  generally  had  no  floor  ex¬ 
cept  the  earth,  which  was  smoothed  off  and  packed  hard.  Some¬ 
times  this  was  varied  by  mixing  lime  with  the  mud  and  letting  it 
harden,  and  sometimes  floors  of  cobblestones  or  stone  chippings 
mixed  with  lime  were  found.  In  the  Roman  period  mosaic  floors, 
made  by  embedding  small  smoothly  cut  squares  of  stone  in  the 
earth,  were  introduced.  By  employing  stones  of  different  colors 
the  mosaics  were  often  worked  into  beautiful  patterns;  (see  Figs. 
35,  42,  43,  44,  47,  and  48).  Sometimes  pictures  of  birds  and  ani¬ 
mals  were  formed  in  the  floors. 

The  doorways  were  usually  simply  an  opening  made  by  the 
vertical  sides  left  in  the  masonry.  In  the  later  time  they  were  some¬ 
times  lined  with  standing  stones.  The  doors  themselves  have  long 
since  disappeared,  but  there  is  evidence  that,  like  many  houses  still 
to  be  seen  in  Palestine,  they  were  made  fast  to  a  post,  the  lower  end 
of  which  was  set  in  a  hollow  or  perforated  stone.  When  the  door 
swung  the  wdiole  post  turned  in  this  stone.  Some  of  these  stones 
were  found.  In  a  few  houses-  at  Gezer  enclosures  of  stones  on  end 


THE  CITIES  OF  PALESTINE 


127 


were  sometimes  found  in  the  middle  or  the  corners  of  dwelling 
houses.  Perhaps  these  were  hearths.1  Some  houses  built  after 
the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great  had  a  kind  of  piazza  running  along 
the  side.  The  remains  of  the  pillars  which  supported  the  roofs  of 
these  were  discovered.  Beginning  with  the  Hellenistic  period, 
some  of  the  better  houses  had  baths.  (On  doors,  see  Figs.  49,  50.) 

5.  Palaces. — In  the  excavation  of  different  sites  the  outlines  of 
several  larger  buildings  or  palaces  were  uncovered.  A  few  of  these 
are  of  interest  to  the  student  of  the  Bible. 

(1)  At  Taanach. — In  the  northeast  of  the  mound  at  Taanach2 
the  remains  of  a  building  about  75  X  77  feet  were  found.  It  was 
in  existence  in  the  fourteenth  century  before  Christ.  This  building 
contained  several  rooms,  as  the  plan  will  make  clear;  (see  Fig.  45). 
The  remains  of  the  wall  still  showed  one  layer  of  hewn  stones,  some 
of  which  were  very  large.  In  a  vault  underneath  the  building 
four  cuneiform  tablets  were  found.  They  had  been  placed  there  for 
safety  in  time  of  siege,  and  these  four  tablets  had  been  overlooked 
when  the  rest  of  the  archive  was  rifled.  These  tablets  proved  to  be 
letters  written  at  the  same  time  as  those  found  at  El-Amarna.3 
The  building  was  the  palace  of  a  Canaanite  king. 

(2)  At  Samaria. — Of  especial  interest  to  the  student  of  the  Bible 
are  the  palaces  of  the  Hebrew  period.  At  Samaria  Reisner  dis¬ 
covered  massive  walls,  which  were  probably  the  remains  of  the 
palaces  of  Omri  and  Ahab.  That  of  Omri  was  built  of  large 
stones  and  rested  on  the  native  rock.  As  Omri  was  the  founder 
of  the  city  (1  Kings  16  :  24),  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  this 
was  his  palace.  An  enlargement  of  this  consisted  of  walls  the  con¬ 
struction  of  which  was  finer.  They  were  faced  with  white  marble. 
In  this  palace  an  alabaster  vase  was  found,  inscribed  with  the  name 
of  Osorkon  II,  King  of  Egypt,  who  was  a  contemporary  of  King 
Ahab.  This  is,  therefore,  believed  to  be  the  palace  of  Ahab — 
perhaps  the  “house  of  ivory”  which  Ahab  built  (1  Kings  22  :  39). 
As  the  volume  on  the  excavation  at  Samaria  is  not  yet  published, 
it  is  impossible  to  give  detailed  plans  of  these  buildings.  The 
accompanying  picture  (Fig.  52)  shows  some  of  their  walls. 

(3)  At  Jericho. — Another  building  of  this  period,  which  the 
excavators  believed  might  have  been  built  by  Hiel,  the  rebuilder  of 

1  These  remarks  about  the  house  are  based  on  the  excavation  at  Gezer.  The  excavators  of 
other  sites  have  not  given  as  much  attention  to  the  construction  of  houses  as  Mr.  Macalister  did. 

1  Sellin,  Tell  Taanek,  p.  21. 

3  One  of  these  is  translated  in  Part  II,  p.  350. 


128 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Jericho,  in  the  days  of  Ahab  (1  Kings  16  :  34),  was  uncovered  by 
Sellin.  It  is  the  most  pretentious  building  of  the  Hebrew  time  at 
Jericho  and  may  well  have  been  the  residence  of  the  governor  of 
the  place.  It  consisted  of  a  number  of  large  rooms,  and  was 
throughout  constructed  of  fairly  large  but  irregular  stones;  (see 
Fig.  51). 

(4)  At  Megiddo. — Another  residence  of  an  Israelitish  governor 
was  found  at  Megiddo.  This  was  a  large,  irregular  building,  con¬ 
structed  around  a  courtyard.  Some  of  the  work  was  of  dressed 
stones  of  considerable  size,  in  every  way  superior  to  the  stone- work 
of  the  earlier  buildings  of  that  city.  In  this  palace  a  seal  of  a  man 
named  Shema  was  found,  which  bore  the  inscription,  “Belonging  to 
Shema,  the  servant  of  Jeroboam.”  We  do  not  know  whether  this 
man  served  under  Jeroboam  I  or  Jeroboam  II.  The  fine  character 
of  the  stone- work  leads  one  to  think  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  II  the 
more  probable  date;  (see  Figs.  53  and  27). 

One  more  palace  should  be  noticed,  that  of  Simon  the  Maccabee 
(143-135  b.  c.),  at  Gezer.  This  palace  is  clearly  of  the  Hellenistic 
type,  and  was  identified  as  the  dwelling-place  that  Simon  built 
for  himself  (1  Macc.  13  :48),  by  the  discovery  of  an  ancient 
curse  against  Simon’s  palace  scrawled  in  Greek  on  a  block  of  stone. 
This  building  was  constructed  of  rather  finely  cut  stone,  was  of 
irregular  shape  (see  Figs.  54,  55),  had  an  imposing  gate  which 
admitted  into  a  courtyard,  and  was  supplied  with  a  good  system 
of  drainage. 

6.  Foundation  Sacrifices. — When  a  house  wras  built  it  was  cus¬ 
tomary  to  consecrate  it  by  a  sacrifice.  In  early  times  in  Palestine 
this  was  often  a  human  sacrifice.  In  Gezer  the  skeleton  of  a 
woman  was  found  built  into  the  walls  of  a  house.  Numerous  skele¬ 
tons  of  children  were  also  found  under  the  corners  of  houses.  Such 
sacrificial  offerings  were  more  often  made  under  the  corners  of 
buildings,  since  the  corners  were  considered  sacred.  In  Babylonia 
and  Egypt  the  sacrifice  was  accompanied  with  the  burial  under  the 
corner-stone  of  inscriptions  and  other  deposits,  though  in  Egypt, 
as  in  Palestine,  the  deposit  was  not  always  under  the  corners.1 
Similar  sacrifices  were  found  at  Taanach2  and  Megiddo.3  These 
sacrifices  illustrate,  some  think,  1  Kings  16  :  34,  where  Hiel 

1  See  the  writer’s  article,  “  Corners,”  in  Hastings’  Encyclopaedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,  Vol.  IV, 
119,  ff. 

2  Sellin,  Tell  Taanek,  p.  61. 

3  Schumacher,  Tell  el-Mutesellim,  pp.  45,  54. 


THE  CITIES  OF  PALESTINE 


129 


laid  the  foundation  of  Jericho  with  the  loss  of  his  first-born,  and 
set  up  its  gates  with  the  loss  of  his  youngest  son;  (see  Fig.  56). 

7.  City  Gates. — The  city  gate  was  in  Palestine  an  important 
part  of  the  town.  Gateways  were  constructed  in  different  ways 
at  different  times.  At  Gezer  the  northern  gate  consisted  of  a  pro¬ 
truding  tower,  into  which  one  entered  at  the  side,  then  turned  a 
right  angle  to  gain  entrance  to  the  city;  (see  Fig.  58).  Gates  of  this 
type  are  still  common  in  the  East.  The  passageway  in  this  gate 
at  Gezer  was  40  feet  wide.1  The  southern  gate  of  Gezer  consisted 
simply  of  a  straight  passageway,  42  feet  long  and  9  feet  wide,  be¬ 
tween  two  brick  towers;  (see  Fig.  61).  Often,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
gate  found  at  Bethshemesh  (Fig.  59),  there  were  rooms  on  each 
side  of  the  passageway  through  the  tower.  One  with  still  more 
space  within  its  tower  was  uncovered  at  Megiddo;  (Fig.  57). 

The  city  gates  usually  remained  at  the  same  points  in  the  wall 
through  the  successive  reconstructions  of  the  city.  Thus  at  Sa¬ 
maria  the  remains  of  round  Herodian  towers  which  flanked  the 
gateway  were  found  resting  on  larger  square  bases  of  the  Seleucid 
period,  beneath  which  the  outline  of  the  earlier  Israelitish  towers 
was  still  visible;  (see  Figs.  65,  66). 

The  form  of  these  gates  illuminates  many  Biblical  passages.  Lot 
sat  in  the  gate  of  Sodom  (Gen.  19  :  1).  Joab  took  Abner  aside  in 
the  gate  to  speak  to  him  (2  Sam.  3  :  27).  The  gate  was  the  place 
of  conference  for  the  elders  of  a  city  (Gen.  34  :  20).  To  be  praised 
in  the  “gates,”  where  the  city’s  affairs  were  settled  (Prov.  31  :  31), 
was  to  have  desired  fame. 

8.  Water  Supply: 

(1)  Springs. — The  water  supply  of  Palestinian  cities  came  in 
part  from  the  never-failing  springs  near  which  they  were  built. 
This  supply  was,  however,  seldom  sufficient,  so  that  from  the  early 
days  cisterns  were  built  to  catch  the  water  of  the  rainy  season  and 
conserve  it  for  use  during  the  summer  months.  These  cisterns  were 
often  excavated  in  the  solid  rock,  but  sometimes  were  simple  pits  in 
the  earth,  over  the  bottom  of  which  a  coating  of  lime  or  cement  had 
been  spread. 

(2)  Underground  Tunnels. — In  time  of  war,  when  a  city  might 
be  shut  up  for  years,  cities  were  often  compelled  to  yield  for  want 
of  water.  This  was  especially  the  case  if  the  spring  lay  outside  the 
city  walls.  In  several  Palestinian  cities  means  were  taken  to 

1  See  Macalister,  The  Excavation  of  Gezer,  I,  240. 


130 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


secure  access  to  a  spring  without  exposing  oneself  to  the  enemy  out¬ 
side  the  wall.  One  of  the  greatest  of  these  undertakings  was  dis¬ 
covered  at  Gezer.  This  was  a  tunnel  cut  in  the  solid  rock,  which 
was  entered  by  a  long  flight  of  rock-cut  steps.  At  the  entrance  the 
rock  formed  an  imposing  archway  23  feet  high  and  13  feet  10  inches 
broad.  These  dimensions  were  maintained  throughout  about 
two-thirds  of  the  length  of  the  tunnel.  The  whole  passage  was 
about  130  feet  long.  The  last  third  of  it  had  to  be  cut  through  a 
much  harder  rock,  where  the  work  was  much  more  difficult,  and  its 
workmanship  was  here  not  so  good  as  above.  The  tunnel  also  be¬ 
came  appreciably  smaller.  The  passage  terminated  in  a  large  cave, 
in  the  bottom  of  which  was  a  spring,  and  was  evidently  constructed 
to  enable  the  inhabitants  to  reach  a  water  supply  in  time  of  siege. 
The  floor  of  the  cave  is  94  feet  6  inches  below  the  level  of  the  rock 
surface  under  the  ancient  city.  The  whole  tunnel  is  a  remarkable 
piece  of  engineering  for  an  early  people;  (see  Figs.  60  and  62). 

The  earth  with  which  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel  was  closed  con¬ 
tained  objects  which  belonged  to  the  time  1450-1250  b.  c.  The 
steps  in  the  passageway  had  been  before  this  deeply  worn  by  many 
feet — so  deeply  worn  that  Mr.  Macalister  estimated  that  they 
must  have  been  in  use  for  500  years.  For  these  reasons  he  sup¬ 
poses  that  this  water-passage  was  excavated  about  2000  b.  c.  or 
soon  after  that  date.  It  had  ceased  to  be  used  before  the  Israelites 
conquered  the  place. 

A  similar  underground  tunnel  leading  to  a  spring  has  been  found 
at  El-Gib,  Gibeon,  (Fig.  63),  and  one  made  in  Jebusite  times 
also  existed  at  Jerusalem.  It  is  mentioned  in  2  Sam.  5  :  8,  and  will 
be  described  in  connection  with  Jerusalem  (p.  188).  At  Rabbah 
Ammon  an  underground  passage  connected  the  old  city  situated  on 
the  hill  with  a  large  cistern  which  was  roofed  over  so  as  to  be  con¬ 
cealed.  To  this  cistern  in  time  of  siege  the  inhabitants  could  go 
through  the  passage  and  obtain  water.  It  was  this  cistern1  which 
Joab  had  captured  (2  Sam.  12  :  27)  when  he  sent  to  David  to  come 
and  take  the  city.  Antiochus  III  of  Syria  in  the  same  way  com¬ 
pelled  the  city  to  surrender  in  the  year  218  b.  c.,2  and  Herod  the 
Great  did  the  same  thing  before  30  b.  c.3 

(3)  Reservoirs. — Among  the  sources  of  water  supply  for  the  cities 

1  In  2  Sam.  12  :  27  we  should  read  “pool  of  waters”  instead  of  “city  of  waters”;  see  Barton  in 
Journal  of  Biblical  Literature,  XXVII,  147-152. 

2  See  Polybius,  V,  71. 

*  Josephus,  Jewish  Wars,  I,  xix,  5,  ff. 


THE  CITIES  OF  PALESTINE 


131 


of  Palestine  the  so-called  Pools  of  Solomon  to  the  south  of  Bethle¬ 
hem  are  unique.  They  consist  of  three  reservoirs,  partly  rock-cut 
and  in  part  constructed  of  walls  of  masonry,  in  the  Wady  Artas, 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  southwest  of  Bethlehem.  The  high¬ 
est  of  these  pools  is  127  yards  long  and  76  yards  wide,  and  25  feet 
deep  at  its  lower  end.  The  central  pool  is  141  yards  long,  from  53 
to  83  yards  wide,  and  38  feet  deep.  The  lowest  and  finest  of  the 
three  is  194  yards  long,  49  to  69  yards  wide,  and  48  feet  at  its  deep¬ 
est  part.  In  these  reservoirs  water  from  neighboring  springs  was 
collected  and  stored.  Two  aqueducts  at  different  times  conveyed 
it  to  Jerusalem  as  it  was  needed.  These  aqueducts  are  now  known 
respectively  as  the  Low  Level  Aqueduct  and  the  High  Level  Aque¬ 
duct.  The  High  Level  Aqueduct  appears  to  be  the  older.  In 
recent  years  the  Low  Level  Aqueduct  has  been  repaired,  so  that 
these  “pools”  still  contribute  to  the  water  supply  of  Jerusalem. 

There  is  no  evidence  that  Solomon  built  these.  His  name  has 
been  attached  to  them  solely  on  account  of  Eccl.  2  :  6:  “I  made  me 
pools  of  water.”  The  whole  structure  of  these  and  their  aqueducts 
seems  rather  to  be  Greek  or  Roman  work;  (see  Fig.  64). 

Evidence  for  the  dates  is  not  conclusive,1  but  there  is  some  prob¬ 
ability  that  the  pools  were  constructed  by  John  Hyrcanus  I,  135- 
105  b.  c.,  who  made  the  High  Level  Aqueduct,  and  that  the  Low 
Level  Aqueduct  was  constructed  by  Herod  the  Great.  This  is 
much  longer  than  the  High  Level  Aqueduct,  as  it  makes  a  detour 
toward  Gebel  Fureidis,  where  Herod  constructed  a  palace,  to 
which  he  conveyed  water.  This  Low  Level  Aqueduct  is  probably 
the  one  afterward  repaired  by  Pontius  Pilate.2 

1  For  the  conflicting  evidence  and  theories,  see  G.  A.  Smith,  Jerusalem,  I,  124-131. 

2  Josephus,  Antiquities,  XVIII,  iii,  2. 


CHAPTER  VII  * 


ROADS  AND  AGRICULTURE 

Roads:  Early  paths.  Roman  roads.  Agriculture:  Granaries.  Hoes  and  plows. 
Sickles.  Threshing.  Winnowing.  Grinding.  Mortars.  Fruits.  Vineyards  and 
wine-vats.  Olive-presses.  The  agricultural  calendar.  Domestic  animals.  Bees. 
Birds.  Hens. 

1.  Roads. — From  the  time  cities  were  established  in  Palestine 
there  was  more  or  less  communication  between  them.  Probably 
in  a  small  way  commerce  was  carried  on  among  some  of  them, 
but  no  effort  was  made  to  construct  roads,  in  the  modern  sense  of 
the  term,  until  the  Roman  period. 

(1)  Early  Paths. — Before  that  time  all  traveling  was  done  on 
foot  or  on  the  backs  of  donkeys  and  camels,  and  for  such  travel 
a  simple  foot-path,  made  by  continuous  use,  was  all  that  was  con¬ 
sidered  necessary.  The  roads  constructed  by  the  Romans  have 
long  since  fallen  into  a  state  of  utter  disrepair,  so  that,  with  the 
exception  of  two  or  three  roads  that  have  been  built  in  recent 
years,  the  simple,  rough  foot-paths  that  have  existed  from  time 
immemorial  still  suffice  for  Palestinian  travel.  These  paths  are 
often  exceedingly  rough.  They  were  never  surveyed  and  never 
repaired.  They  were  simply  devoted  to  public  use  by  immemorial 
custom.  If  a  landowner  wished  to  raise  grain  in  a  field  through 
which  one  of  these  paths  ran,  he  plowed  up  to  the  very  edge  of  the 
narrow  path  and  put  in  his  seed.  There  were  neither  fences  nor 
ditches  to  separate  the  road  from  the  field.  Fields  traversed  by 
such  roads  are  still  very  common  in  Palestine.  It  was  along  such  a 
road  that  Jesus  and  the  disciples  were  traveling  when  they  plucked 
the  ears  of  wheat  on  the  Sabbath  (Matt.  12  :  1;  Mark  2  :  23;  Luke 
6:1).  It  was  such  a  road  to  which  Jesus  alluded  in  the  Parable  of 
the  Sower:  “Some  seed  fell  by  the  wayside”  (Matt.  13  : 4;  Mark 
4:4;  Luke  8:5).  A  rough  path  is  shown  in  Fig.  67. 

(2)  Roman  Roads. — After  Palestine  passed  under  the  sway  of 
Rome  in  63  b.  c.  a  system  of  roads  was  built  to  connect  the  most 
important  places.  We  have  no  definite  information  about  these 

132 


ROADS  AND  AGRICULTURE 


133 


from  a  source  earlier  than  the  Onomasticon  of  Eusebius,1  which  was 
compiled  before  340  a.  d.,  but  in  all  probability  those  on  the  west 
of  the  Jordan  were  constructed  before  the  time  of  Christ.  There 
were  three  main  roads  in  this  part  of  Palestine.2  One  ran  down  the 
sea-coast.  Starting  at  Sidon,  it  passed  southward  through  Tyre, 
Sarepta  (Zarephath,  1  Kings  17  :  10;  Luke  4  : 26),  Ptolemais 
(Accho),  Dor,  Caesarea,  Joppa,  Lydda,  Azotus  (Ashdod),  and 
Askelon  to  Gaza.  A  branch  road  ran  eastward  from  Tyre  over  the 
hills  of  Galilee  through  Kedesh  in  Naphtali  (Josh.  12  :  22;  20  :  7; 
Judges  4  :6),  to  Caesarea  Philippi  (Matt.  16  :  13;  Mark  8  :  27), 
which  was  near  the  ancient  Dan  (Judges  18  :  29). 

From  Caesarea,  on  the  sea-coast  south  of  Dor,  another  branch 
road  ran  southeastward  through  the  valley  of  Aijalon  up  to  the  site 
of  Gibeah  of  Saul  (1  Sam.  10  :  26;  11  : 4,  etc.),  where  it  joined  the 
road  along  the  central  ridge  of  the  country;  (see  Fig.  68). 

Starting  from  Damascus  another  road  ran  southward  to  Hyppos, 
one  of  the  cities  of  the  Decapolis,  which  lay  southeast  of  the 
Sea  of  Galilee,3  crossed  the  Jordan  on  a  bridge  below  the  Sea  of 
Galilee  (shown  in  Fig.  289),  passed  through  Scythopolis,  the 
Beth-shean  of  the  Old  Testament  (Josh.  17  :  11;  1  Sam.  31  :  10), 
through  Sychar  (John  4:5),  then  southward  along  the  central  ridge 
of  the  country,  through  Bethel  and  Ramah  to  Jerusalem.  South 
of  Jerusalem  it  was  continued  to  Bethlehem  and  Hebron.  Four 
miles  north  of  Jerusalem  it  was  joined  by  the  road  from  Caesarea, 
so  that  travelers  from  the  coast  and  from  the  north  entered  Jeru¬ 
salem  over  the  same  road.  One  can  in  many  places  still  trace  the 
lines  of  Roman  paving-stones  which  mark  their  courses.  Thus 
the  juncture  of  the  two  roads  just  mentioned  is  still  visible,  and  one 
may  stand  on  the  hillside  and  feel  sure  that  he  is  looking  at  the  very 
way  over  which  Paul  was  taken  to  Caesarea  by  the  Roman  soldiers 
the  night  after  his  arrest  in  Jerusalem  (Acts  23  :  23,  24). 

From  Scythopolis  (Beth-shean)  another  road  ran  southward 
through  the  Jordan  valley  to  Jericho.  This  was  probably  contin¬ 
ued  to  Jerusalem.  From  Sebaste  (Samaria)  another  road  ran 
northwestward  through  Dothan  (Gen.  37  :  17;  2  Kings  6  :  13),  to 
Taanach,  Megiddo,  and  the  coast. 

After  Trajan  overthrew  the  kingdom  of  the  Nabathoeans,  in  106 

- 1  See  p.  85. 

1  See  Thomsen  in  Zeitschrift  des  deutschen  Paldstina-Vereins,  XXVI,  170.  ff. 

3  See  Chapter  XIV. 


134 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


A.  d.,  he  built  a  road  on  the  east  of  the  Jordan,  southward  from 
Damascus  to  the  Red  Sea.  The  Roman  government  kept  these 
roads  in  good  order.  They  marked  the  distances  by  milestones, 
some  of  which  have  survived  to  modern  times;  (Figs.  69,  71). 

2.  Agriculture  was  the  chief  occupation  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Palestine.  The  cities  were  throughout  its  history  simply  the 
walled  residences  of  farmers.  Such  trade  as  developed  at  different 
periods  was  always  subordinate  to  agricultural  pursuits.  We  can¬ 
not  expect  exploration  to  furnish  us  with  a  complete  view  of  ancient 
Palestinian  agriculture,  but  such  glimpses  as  it  does  afford  us  are 
most  illuminating. 

(1)  Granaries. — In  the  excavation  of  Gezer1  it  was  found  that 
granaries  formed  an  important  class  of  buildings.  Some  of  these 
were  connected  with  private  houses  and  evidently  belonged  to 
individuals,  but  some  of  them  were  so  large  and  so  much  grain 
was  found  in  them  that  it  was  rightly  held  that  they  must  have 
been  public  granaries.  Some  of  these  buildings  had  been  de¬ 
stroyed  by  fire,  and  the  charred  grain,  retaining  its  original  shape, 
was  easily  recognized.  Most  of  the  granaries  were  circular  struc¬ 
tures,  such  as  are  seen  today  dotting  the  fields  of  the  maritime  plain 
of  Palestine.  They  varied  greatly  in  size.  One  was  but  2  feet  8 
inches  in  diameter;  another  was  4  feet  9  inches  across  and  6  feet  9 
inches  deep.  One  granary  from  the  second  Semitic  stratum  (1700- 
1350  b.  c.)  was  connected  with  a  house,  and  contained  several 
kinds  of  grain,  each  stored  in  a  separate  chamber;  (Figs.  70,  72). 

From  such  receptacles  wheat,  barley,  oats,  and  beans  were  re¬ 
covered,  as  well  as  three  varieties  of  vetch,  one  of  which  was  prob¬ 
ably  the  “lentils”  of  Gen.  25  :  34;  2  Sam.  17  :  28;  23  :  11;  and  Ezek. 
4  :  9.  Barley  is  often  mentioned  in  the  Bible;  the  wheat  is  usually 
there  called  “corn.”  Piles  of  straw  and  chaff,  such  as  the  modern 
Palestinians  call  tibn,  were  also  found. 

(2)  Hoes  and  Plows. — Naturally,  the  implements  with  which 
the  grain  was  cultivated  have  nearly  all  perished.  In  the  first 
place  the  ground  had  to  be  broken  and  prepared  to  receive  the 
seed.  Remains  of  two  different  kinds  of  hoes  were  found  at 
Gezer,  though  the  preparation  of  a  sufficiently  large  area  of  ground 
to  bear  grain  to  support  cities  cannot  have  been  made  with  such 
instruments;  (see  Fig.  73).  From  an  early  time  the  plow,  wdiich 
is  frequently  mentioned  in  the  Bible  (see,  for  example,  1  Kings  19  : 

1  See  Macalister,  Excavation  of  Gezer,  I,  199,  f;  II,  22,  ff. 


ROADS  AND  AGRICULTURE 


135 


19),  was  in  use  in  Palestine.  A  number  of  plowshares  were  found 
at  Megiddo  in  the  ruins  of  a  blacksmith’s  shop,  and  a  diamond¬ 
shaped  iron  ring,  from  Gezer,  may  have  been  used  to  attach  oxen 
to  a  plow,  and  the.  points  of  several  ox-goads  were  found.  The  ox- 
goad  consisted,  as  it  does  today,  of  a  long  stick  into  the  end  of 
which  a  sharp  iron  point  was  fixed.  It  is  alluded  to  in  Acts  26  :  14. 
As  this  goad  was  used  in  driving  the  oxen  in  plowing,  it  indicates 
that  plows  were  used.  These  plows  were  probably  similar  to*  those 
used  at  the  time  in  Egypt;  (see  Figs.  76,  77). 

(3)  Sickles. — When  the  grain  was  ripe  it  was  reaped  with  a 
sickle  (Deut.  16  :  9;  Jer.  50  :  16;  Joel  3  :  13).  In  the  earlier 
periods  these  were  of  flint;  later  they  were  made  of  bronze,  and 
iron.  Sickles  of  metal  are,  however,  rarely  found.  They  were 
expensive,  while  flint  was  abundant  and  cheap.  Flint  sickle- 
teeth  were  numerous,  therefore,  in  all  periods.  The  earliest  sickles 
were  flints  set  in  an  animal’s  jaw-bone,  or  in  a.  curved  piece  of 
wood  similar  to  the  Egyptian  sickle  shown  in  Figs.  74,  75. 

(4)  Threshing. — After  the  grain  was  cut  it  was  taken  to  the 
threshing-floor  to  be  threshed.  These  floors  were  often  a  compara¬ 
tively  level  portion  of  rock  which  formed  a  part  of  a  high  place 
or  sanctuary.  Such  was  the  threshing-floor  of  Araunah,  the  Jebu- 
site,  in  2  Sam.  24  :  18.  It  took  several  days  to  complete  a  threshing, 
and  as  no  one  would  think  of  stealing  from  a  sacred  place,  the  whole 
community  was  protected  by  doing  the  threshing  in  its  precincts. 
Sometimes  the  cattle  were  driven  about  over  the  grain,  as  in 
ancient  Egypt  (see  Fig.  79),  and  as  is  done,  in  modern  Palestine 
still;  (see  Fig.  78).  This  is  the  kind  of  threshing  contemplated 
in  Deut.  25  : 4.  At  other  times  a  kind  of  sledge  drawn  by  cattle 
was  driven  about  over  the  grain.  Oman  (Araunah)  was  threshing 
with  such  an  instrument  (1  Chron.  21  :  23;  2  Sam.  24  :  22),  and 
allusion  is  made  to  one  in  Isa.  41  :  15;  (see  Fig.  80). 

(5)  Winnowing. — The  grain  was  winnowed  or  cleansed  of  chaff 
by  being  thrown  up,  as  in  Fig.  79.  As  it  fell  the  wind  blew  the 
chaff  away.  It  is  this  process  that  John  the  Baptist  used  as  an 
illustration  of  the  purging  work  of  Christ  (Matt.  3  :  12;  Luke 
3  :  17). 

(6)  Grinding. — When  the  grain  was  cut,  threshed,  and  winnowed, 
there  were  no  mills  to  which  it  could  be  taken  for  grinding.  This 
process  had  to  be  done  in  each  home,  and  the  labor  of  doing  it 
fell  to  the  women  of  the  household.  (See  Exod.  11:5;  Matt. 


136 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


24  :  41 .)  Grain  was  reduced  to  flour  either  by  rubbing  or  by  pound¬ 
ing.  The  process  of  rubbing*  or  grinding  was  accomplished  either 
by  a  flat  saddle-shaped  stone  over  which  another  was  rubbed  (see 
Figs.  81,  84),  or  by  crushing  between  two  stones,  the  top  one  of 
which  was  revolved  somewhat  as  a  modern  millstone  (Fig.  82). 
It  required  two  women,  as  Jesus  said,  to  grind  at  such  a  mill — 
one  to  feed  it,  while  the.  other  manipulated  the  rubbing  stone. 
Such  stones  were  made  of  hard  igneous  rock  procured  from  the 
region  east  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  and  are  called  “querns.”  In  the 
different  periods  of  the  history  of  Palestine  they  varied  in  size  and 
shape,  becoming  round  in  the  Seleucid  period  (323-63  b.  c.).  The 
upper  stone  was  apparently  rotated  by  twisting  the  wrist.  It 
could  be  thus  turned  half-way  round  and  then  back  again.  No 
round  millstones,  with  the  topmost  of  the  pair  perforated,  as 
in  the  modern  millstone,  were  found  before  the  Arabic  period, 
637  A.  d.  Pictures  of  modern  Syrian  women  turning  this,  per¬ 
forated  type  of  millstone  do  not,  therefore,  really  illustrate,  as 
is  often  assumed,  the  women  of  the  Bible  as.  they  ground  at  the 
mill. 

Probably  the  millstone  which  crushed  the  head,  of  Abimelech 
at  Thebez  (Judges  9  :  53)  was  the  upper  stone  of  a  “saddle  quern.” 
The  importance  of  these  millstones  is  recognized  in  Deut.  24  :  6, 
which  prohibits  the  taking  of  a  mill  or  the  upper  millstone  of  a 
poor  man  as.  security,  on  the  ground  that  that  was  the  same  as 
taking  a  man’s  life  as  security.  The  lower  millstone  was  always 
made  of  the  harder  stone.  Because  of  this  and  of.  the  grinding 
and  pounding  to  which  it  was  subjected  it  became  a  symbol  of 
firmness  (Job  41  :  24). 

(7)  Mortars. — Apparently  the  grain  was  also  frequently  crushed 
by  pounding  it  with  a  pestle  in  a  mortar.  So  many  of  these  made 
of  stone  were  found  at  Gezer  that  it  is  thought  that  these  may 
have  been  used  more  often  than  the  millstones;  (see  Fig.  83). 

(8)  Fruits. — In  the  course  of  the  excavation  of  Gezer  dried  figs, 
grapes,  pomegranates,  and  olives  were  found.  All  of  these  are 
mentioned  in  the  Bible,  as,  for  example,  in  Cant.  2  :  13;  Rev.  6  :  13; 
Gen.  40  :  11;  Num.  13  :  23;  Micah  6  :  15.  In  one  trench  what 
appeared  to  be  a  pile  of  charred  pistachio  nuts  was  found.  Acorns, 
terebinth,  and  apricot  seeds  were  also  discovered.1  Of  these  fruits, 
those  which  left  the  most  archaeological  evidence  of  their  existence 

1  See  Macalister,  Excavation  of  Gezer,  II,  22,  f. 


ROADS  AND  AGRICULTURE 


137 


are  just  those  that  are  most  frequently  mentioned  in  the  Bible, — 
the  grape  and  the  olive. 

(9)  Vineyards  and  Wine-vats. — The  grape  is  often  alluded  to 
in  the  Bible,  and  directions  are  given  as  to  how  one  may  conduct 
himself  in  a  vineyard  (Deut.  23  :  24)  and  as  to  how  thoroughly 
one  might  glean  his  vines  (Lev.  25  :  5).  The  most  complete  de¬ 
scription  of'  a.  vineyard  is  in  Isa.  5  :  1-8.  The  one  feature  of  that 
description  that  would  survive  for  an  archaeologist  to  discover  is 
the  wine-vat.  These  vats  were  often  cut  in  the  solid  rock,  and 
many  of  them  have  been  found,  both  in  excavating  and  in  trav¬ 
eling  over  the  country.  The  vats  for  pressing  grapes  and  other 
fruits  may  be  distinguished  from  olive-presses  because  they  lack 
all  arrangements  for  mechanical  pressing.  The  grapes  were  trodden 
with  the  feet,  and  as  the  juice  was  pressed  out  it  ran  down  into  a 
deeper  portion  of  the  vat.  Some  of  these  vats  are  surrounded  by 
“cup-marks”  or  hollow  places  cut  in  the  stone  in  order  to  hold 
pointed-bottomed  jars  upright.  Sometimes  the  cup-marks  are  con¬ 
nected  with  the  main  vat  by  tiny  channels,  through  which  any  of 
the  grape-juice  that  might  drain  from  the  outside  of  the  jar,  after 
the  jar  had  been  dipped  in  the  vat,  might  run  back;  (see  Fig.  87). 

(10)  Olive-presses. — Similarly,  olive-presses  are  very  numerous 
in  Palestine.  Presses  were  found  in  the  stratum  of  the  cave- 
dwellers  of  Gezer.  The  olive  industry  is,  accordingly,  very  old. 
Olive-presses  comprised,  in  addition  to  the  vat,  an  upright  stone 
with  a  large  hole  in  it.  In  this  hole  a  beam  was  inserted.  This 
beam  rested  on  the  olives  which  were  to  be  pressed,  extending 
far  beyond  the  receptacle  containing  the  olives,  and  weights 
were  hung  on  the  end  farthest  from  the  stone;  (see  Fig.  88). 
Palestine  in  ancient  times,  as  now,  was  covered  with  olive  orchards, 
many  of  which  had  oil-presses.  Such  an  orchard  wras  called  a 
“garden.”  The  Garden  of  Gethsemane,  the  scene  of  one  of  the  most 
sacred  incidents  of  the  life  of  Christ  (Matt.  26  :  36;  Mark  14  :  32), 
was  an  olive  orchard  and  took  its  name  from  the  oil-press.  Geth¬ 
semane  means  “oil-press.”  Wine-vats  and  oil-presses  were  of 
various  types,  but  into  their  forms  there  is  not  space  to  enter 
here1;  (see  Figs.  85,  86). 

The  prominent  place  held  by  wine  and  oil  among  the  agricul- 


1  The  reader  who  cares  to  pursue  the  subject  is  referred  to  Macalister’s  Excavation  of  Gezer,  II, 
48,  if.,  and  Sellin’s  Tell  Taanek,  61,  f.,  and  Bliss  and  Macalister’s  Excavations  in  Palestine,  1898- 
1900,  pp.  193,  196,  f.,  208,  227,  and  248. 


138 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


tural  products  of  the  country  is  indicated  by  the  receipts  for  the 
storage  of  various  quantities  of  these  articles  which  were  found  at 
Samaria. 

(11)  The  Agricultural  Calendar. — In  the  books  of  the  old  Testa¬ 
ment  the  names  applied  to  the  months  are,  for  the  most  part, 
names  derived  from  Babylonia,  but  it  appears  that  at  Gezer  they 
had  a  series  of  names  for  the  months  based  on  their  agricultural 
year.  In  the  stratum  which  contained  remains  from  the  time  of 
the  Hebrew  monarchy,  1000-550  B.  c.,  an  inscription  was  found 
which,  though  the  end  wTas  broken  away,  contained  the  following 
names  for  the  months: 

1.  Month  of  ingathering.  (See  Exod.  23: 16;  34:22.) 

2.  Month  of  sowing. 

3.  Month  of  the  late  [sowing  ?]. 

4.  Month  of  the  flax-harvest. 

5.  Month  of  the  barley-harvest.  (See  Ruth  2:  23;  2  Sam.  21:9.) 

6.  Month  of  the  harvest  of  all  [other  grains  ?]. 

7.  Month  of  pruning  [vines]. 

8.  Month  of  summer-fruit  [figs]. 

This  calendar,  beginning  in  October,  still  conforms  to  the  agri¬ 
cultural  pursuits  of  the  year.  It  also  gives  us  archaeological  evi¬ 
dence  of  the  culture  of  flax  by  the  ancient  Israelites.  (See  Josh. 
2:6;  Prov.  31  :  13;  Hosea  2  :  5,  9.) 

(12)  Domestic  Animals. — The  domestic  animals  of  ancient  Pal¬ 
estine  may  be  traced  in  part  by  their  bones  found  in  various  excava¬ 
tions,  and  in  part  by  the  pictures  of  them  drawn  in  caves  and  tombs. 
The  domestic  animals  most  often  mentioned  in  the  Bible  are  asses, 
cattle,  sheep,  goats,  and  camels.  Bones,  pictures,  or  models  of  these 
were  found  in  all  the  strata  of  Gezer.1  There  seem  to  have  been  a 
variety  of  cows;  the  breeds  varied  in  the  different  periods.  No  horse 
bones  were  found  until  the  third  Semitic  period  (1350-1000  b.  c.). 
It  was,  perhaps,  during  that  period  that  the  horse  was  introduced 
by  the  Hittites,  who  appear  to  have  brought  it  from  Turkestan, 
where  its  bones  have  been  found  in  much  earlier  strata.2  The 
ass  was,  however,  the  common  beast  of  burden  in  Palestine,  and 
bones  of  horses  are  rare  until  the  Greek  period.  A  number  of 
figures  of  horses’  heads  with  their  bridles  were  found,  as  well  as  a 
horse’s  bit,  and  the  picture  of  a  horse  and  his  rider.  The  pig  was  a 

1  See  Macalister,  Excavation  of  Gezer,  II,  1-15. 

2  See  Pumpelly,  Excavations  in  Turkestan,  Washington,  1908,  p.  384,  f. 


ROADS  AND  AGRICULTURE 


139 


domesticated  animal  of  the  primitive  cave-dwellers  of  Gezer,  who 
appear  to  have  offered  swine  in  sacrifice,  but  pig-bones  are  rarely 
found  in  the  Semitic  strata.  As  swine  were  unclean  to  all  Semites, 
this  is  not  strange.  The  dog  appears  to  have  been  half-domesti¬ 
cated,  as  the  Bible  implies,  as  his  bones  were  employed  for  making 
prickers  and  similar  tools,  but  no  pictures  or  models  of  dogs  are 
known  to  the  writer.  Probably  they  were  of  the  half-wild  pariah 
type.  Certainly  they  were  not  held  in  high  esteem.  (See  1  Sam. 
17  :  43;  2  Sam.  16  :  9.)  For  illustrations,  see  Figs.  89-92. 

(13)  Bees. — A  number  of  inverted  jars,  each  pierced  with  a  num¬ 
ber  of  circular  holes,  were  found.  It  seems  probable  that  these 
were  rude  beehives.  Before  the  Israelites  settled  in  Palestine 
they  knew  it  as  “a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey”  (Exod.  3  :  8, 
17;  Num.  14  :  8;  16  :  13,  14;  Deut.  6  :  3),  and  their  view  was,  we 
are  told,  shared  by  others  (2  Kings  18  : 32).  It  is  not  surprising, 
therefore,  to  find  evidences  of  bee  culture;  (see  Fig.  95). 

(14)  Birds. — As  to  birds,  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  had  any 
domesticated  ones  before  the  Babylonian  Exile.  A  rude  picture  of 
an  ostrich  painted  on  a  potsherd  was  found  at  Gezer,  as  well  as 
some  painted  fragments  of  ostrich-egg  shell.  The  ostrich  is  men¬ 
tioned  in  the  Old  Testament  (Job  39  :  13;  Lam.  4:3),  but  as  a  wild 
bird.  The  Palestinians  knew  it  as  a  bird  that  might  be  hunted. 
They  sometimes  gathered  the  eggs  of  wild  birds  to  eat  (Deut.  22  :  6; 
Isa.  10  :  14).  These  were,  perhaps,  sometimes  ostrich-eggs.  The 
modern  Arabs  make  a  kind  of  omelette  of  ostrich-eggs.  The  ostrich 
was  certainly  not  a  domestic  bird. 

At  Gezer,  too,  a  clay  bird  was  found,  or,  rather,  a  small  jar  made 
in  the  form  of  a  bird.  The  object  was  so  realistic  that  holes  were 
left  in  the  clay  wings  for  the  insertion  of  feathers;  (Fig.  93).  The 
bird  bears  some  resemblance  to  a  duck,  figures  of  which  were  found 
at  Megiddo,1  but  the  duck  may  have  been  wild.  One  clay  head  of  a 
goose  or  swan  was  also  found,  but  had  the  bird  been  domesticated 
there  would  probably  have  been  more  traces  of  it. 

(15)  Hens. — The  one  domestic  bird  that  can  be  traced  in  Pales¬ 
tine  is  the  hen,  and  hens  were  not  introduced  until  after  the  Exile. 
Hens  seem  to  have  been  first  domesticated  in  India.  They  are 
not  mentioned  in  the  Rig  Veda,  but  the  Aryans  seem  to  have  come 
into  contact  with  them  when  they  settled  in  the  valley  of  the  Ganges 
about  1000  b.  c.  The  Yajur  and  Atharva  Vedas  mention  the  cock. 

1  See  Schumacher,  Mulesellim,  p.  89. 


140 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


The  hen  is  a  domesticated  Bankiva  fowl,  which  also  'exists  in  a 
wild  state  in  India.  From  India  the  hen  was  domesticated  east¬ 
ward  to  China,  and  westward  to  Persia.  There  is  a  possible  pic¬ 
ture  of  a  cock  on  a  sculpture  of  Sennacherib,  which  would  indicate 
that  the  bird  was  known  in  Assyria  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventh 
century  before  Christ.  Another  is  pictured  on  some  Babylonian 
gems  from  the  time  of  Nabuna’id,  about  550  b.  c.  Pictures  of 
cocks,  three  of  them  somewhat  doubtful,  are  found  on  Babylonian 
seals  of  the  Persian  period.1  The  domesticated  hen,  traveling  by 
way  of  the  Black  Sea,  reached  Asia  Minor  as  early  as  the  eighth 
century  b.  c.2 

There  is,  however,  no  evidence  of  the  presence  of  the  hen  in 
Palestine  before  the  Greek  period.  Neither  hen  nor  cock  is  men¬ 
tioned  in  the  Old  Testament.  In  a  tomb  discovered  by  Peters  and 
Thiersch  in  1902,  near  Tell  Sandahanna,  the  Marissa  of  the  Seleucid 
period  and  the  Moresheth-gath  of  Micah  1  :  14,  a  number  of  cocks 
are  pictured;  (Fig.  94).  The  tomb,  constructed  about  200  b.  c.,  con¬ 
tains  a  number  of  Greek  inscriptions.3  In  agreement  with  this 
evidence  is  also  the  fact  that  at  Taanach  there  was  found  in  a  late 
pre-Arabic  stratum  the  skeleton  of  a  hen  with  an  egg.4  Before 
New  Testament  times,  then,  the  hen  had  become  a  domestic  fowl 
in  Palestine.  Every  one  would  accordingly  understand  the  lament 
of  Christ,  “How  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together, 
even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under  her  wings,  and  ye. would 
not!”  (Matt.  23  :  37).  The  cock  was  so  universally  kept  at  this 
time  that  one  of  the  divisions  of  the  night  was  called  the  “cock- 
crowing”  (Mark  13  :  35).  It  was  the  mark  of  the  progress  of  the 
night  afforded  by  the  habits  of  the  cock  that  was  used  by  Jesus  in 
predicting  Peter’s  denial  (Matt.  26  :  34;  Mark  14  :  30;  Luke  22  : 
34;  John  13  :  38),  and  it  was  the  recalling  of  this  prediction  by  the 
crowing  of  the  cock  that  brought  Peter  to  repentant  tears  (Matt. 
26  :  74;  Mark  14  :  68,  72;  Luke  22  :  60;  John  18  :  27). 

1  Ward,  Seal  Cylinders  of  Western  Asia,  p.  422,  and  Nos.  554,  556,  1126,  and  1254. 

2  See  Dr.  John  P.  Peters’  article  “The  Cock”  in  the  Journal  of  the  American  Oriental  Society, 
Vol.  XXXIII,  pp.  363-396. 

3  See  Peters  and  Thiersch,  The  Painted  Tombs  of  Marissa,  London,  1905. 

4  See  Sellin,  Tell  Taanek,  61,  f. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


POTTERY 

Importance  of  Pottery.  Pre-Semitic  Pottery.  First  Semitic  Pottery  to  1800 
b.  c.  Pottery  of  Second  Semitic  Period.  Third  Semitic  Period.  Israelitish 
or  Fourth  Semitic  Period.  Hellenistic  Period. 

1.  Importance  of  Pottery. — In  all  parts  of  the  world  the  making 
of  clay  jars  and  receptacles  is  one  of  the  earliest  arts  to  be  discovered, 
and  Palestine  was  no  exception  to  the  rule.  In  Palestine  such  jars 
were  particularly  useful,  as  the  water  for  each  family  had  to  be 
carried  from  the  nearest  spring  to  the  house.  It  was  natural  that, 
in  a  country  which  had  so  long  a  history  as  Palestine,  and  over 
which  the  influences  of  so  many  diverse  civilizations  swept,  there 
should  be  a  considerable  variety  in  the  types  of  pottery  in  differ¬ 
ent  periods.  Indeed,  it  is  now  recognized  that  the  differences  in 
these  types  are  so  marked  that  in  the  absence  of  other  criteria  it 
is  possible  approximately  to  date  a  stratum  of  the  remains  of  any 
ancient  city  by  the  type  of  pottery  found  in  it.  Since  this  is  so,  a 
brief  outline  of  the  different  types  is  not  out  of  place  here,  although 
these  differences  have  little  or  no  bearing  upon  the  interpretation 
of  the  Bible.  Only  a  brief  statement  is  here  attempted.  Those 
who  wish  to  study  the  subject  more  fully  are  referred  to  more  ex¬ 
tended  works.1  The  classifications  of  pottery  made  by  the  leading 
experts  differ,  as  they  have  been  written  at  different  times  and  as 
the  excavations  have  continually  enlarged  the  material.  The  classi¬ 
fication  presented  in  the  following  pages  is  mainly  that  of  Macalister, 
based  on  the  work  at  Gezer  and  on  previous  excavations. 

2.  Pre-Semitic  Pottery. — There  is  first,  then,  the  pottery  of  the 
pre-Semitic  cave-dwellers.  This  pottery  is  made  out  of  clay  that 
was  in  no  way  cleansed  or  refined.  It  was  made  by  hand,  the  larger 
jars  having  been  built  up  little  by  little.  The  vessel,  after  receiv¬ 
ing  such  ornament  as  the  potter  desired,  was  usually  fired,  though 
sometimes  simply  sun-dried.  In  firing  the  heat  was  often  dis- 

1  Especial  mention  may  be  made  of  the  following:  Petrie,  Tell  el-Hesy;  Bliss  and  Macalister, 
Excavations  in  Palestine,  i8q8-iqoo,  Part  II;  Vincent,  Canaan  d’apres  /’ exploration  recente,  Paris, 
1907,  Chapter  V.  and  Macalister,  The  Excavation  of  Gezer  II,  128-231. 


141 


142 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


tributed  very  irregularly,  so  that  the  surface  was  not  all  of  the 
same  color.  The  jars  were  of  moderate  size,  flat  on  the  bottom, 
globular,  conical,  or  cylindrical  in  shape.  They  had  concave  necks 
and  handles.  The  handles  were  of  two  kinds — “ledge”  handles  and 
“loop”  handles.  A  “ledge”  handle  consists  of  a  piece  of  clay  pinched 
into  a  flat  projecting  ledge  and  then  baked  hard.  A  “loop”  handle 
is  one  fastened  to  the  jar  at  both  ends,  similar  to  the  handle  of  a 
pitcher.  Bowls  or  saucers  were  also  sometimes  made  with  “ledge” 
handles;  (see  Fig.  97). 

The  most  common  ornamentation  of  the  pottery  of  this  period 
was  made  by  combing  the  clay  with  wooden  combs  notched  with 
teeth  of  greater  or  less  fineness.  Sometimes  the  marks  left  by  the 
comb  were  perpendicular,  sometimes  horizontal,  and  sometimes 
diagonal.  One  other  type  of  ornament  was  exhibited  in  the  pottery 
of  the  cave-dwellers.  That  was  either  an  incised  representation 
of  a  rope  or  cord,  or  a  moulded  imitation  of  one  of  these.  This 
ornamentation  was  probably  suggested  by  the  ropes  or  cords  which 
were  bound  about  the  vessel  before  it  was  fired,  to  prevent  its  fall¬ 
ing  apart.  At  first  the  only  coloring  was  a  line  of  brick-red  around 
the  rims  of  jugs  and  saucers.  The  most  advanced  stage  is  reached 
in  Fig.  96,  where  a  network  of  red  lines  cross  each  other  diagonally. 
The  tint  of  the  red  varies  a  good  deal,  but  this  may  be  due  to  the 
unequal  firing  already  mentioned. 

A  few  specimens  of  burnished  pottery  were  found  in  the  caves. 
This  burnishing  consisted  in  rubbing  the  surface  of  the  vessel  with 
strokes  of  a  smooth  bone  or  stone.  In  some  cases  the  vessel  was 
dipped  in  a  whitish  wash  after  it  was  fired.  This  adhered  to  it 
everywhere  except  on  the  bottom. 

3.  First  Semitic  Pottery  to  1800  B.  C. — The  pottery  of  the  first 
Semitic  period,  which  terminated  about  1800  b.  c.,  is  of  a  finer  type. 
The  larger  pieces  were  made  on  a  wheel,  as  were  many  of  the  smaller 
ones.  The  wheel  was  rotated  with  the  left  hand,  while  the  potter 
moulded  the  vessel  with  the  right.  The  result  was  a  much  more 
shapely  type  of  work  than  in  the  previous  period.  In  the  pre- 
Semitic  period  limestone  clays  were  employed;  in  this  period,  sand¬ 
stone  clays.  Many  of  the  objects,  like  those  of  the  preceding  pe¬ 
riod,  were  of  a  drab  color,  though  the  tints  of  some  of  them  ranged 
from  a  rich  brownish  red  to  orange.  The  patches  of  color  in  these 
vessels  were  probably  due  to  unequal  heat  in  firing. 

In  size  and  shape  the  vessels  presented  a  great  variety.  There 


POTTERY 


143 


were  large  jars  with  flat  bottoms,  inverted  conical  bodies,  and  more 
or  less  abruptly  rounded  shoulders;  (see  Fig.  100).  The  mouth 
was  wide  and  circular  and  surrounded  by  a  flat,  widely  expanding 
rim.  These  jars  averaged  about  two  feet  in  height.  There  were 
many  pitchers  made  in  this  period.  They  were  large  and  small  and 
of  a  great  variety  of  shapes.  Such  pitchers  present  similar  char¬ 
acteristics,  whether  found  at  Gezer  or  Megiddo;  (see  Figs.  98,  99). 
Ledge  and  loop  handles  were  common  on  the  pitchers  of  this  period, 
but  “pillar”  and  “button”1  handles  were  also  sometimes  found;  (see 
Figs.  105,  106).  The  ornamentation  of  pottery  showed  some  ad¬ 
vance  over  the  preceding  period.  In  addition  to  the  rope  motifs, 
decoration  formed  by  combinations  of  lines  was  also  found.  One 
particularly  fine  type  of  pottery  belonging  to  this  period  was  found 
at  Gezer.  It  was  never  found  in  the  caves  or  in  the  higher  strata. 
Vessels  of  this  ware  were  usually  found  in  groups,  indicating  that 
they  were  the  possessions  of  the  rich.  The  clay  was  well  cleaned, 
the  shapes  distinctive  (see  Fig.  104),  and  the  wrare  was  always  cov¬ 
ered  with  a  cream-like  coating.  Saucers  and  bowls  were  common 
in  this  period.  The  comb  was  still  used  in  ornamenting  pottery, 
though  sometimes  it  produced  only  a  series  of  dots.  All  surfaces 
were  usually  burnished,  though  naturally  this  was  much  more 
thoroughly  done  in  the  expensive  than  in  the  cheaper  wares. 

4.  Pottery  of  Second  Semitic  Period. — During  the  second  Se¬ 
mitic  period,  1800-1400  b.  c.,  trade  was  carried  on  with  countries 
beyond  the  sea,  especially  with  Cyprus.  There  was  probably  also 
some  trade  with  Egypt  and  Crete,  but  the  influence  of  Cyprus  was 
most  potent  in  the  pottery.  In  this  period,  probably  owing  to 
foreign  influence,  the  potters’  wheel  worked  by  foot  was  introduced. 
This  left  both  hands  of  the  workman  free  and  resulted  in  a  great 
improvement  of  the  ware.  There  was  in  this  period  a  great  variety 
in  the  material  used.  The  cheaper  vessels  wrere  made  of  a  rough 
clay,  full  of  grits  of  black  colored  sand  or  flints,  which  burned 
black  in  the  middle  of  the  clay  and  a  reddish  or  yellowish  drab  on 
the  surface.  At  least  seven  other  finer  types  of  ware  were  found 
at  Gezer.2  One  of  these  was  a  ware  made  of  a  brilliant  saffron- 
yellow  clay,  which  was  enriched  with  painted  decoration  in  bold 
black  lines.  This  was  probably  of  foreign  origin.  In  this  period 
the  jar  with  pointed  bottom,  long  conical  body,  well  rounded 


1 A  “button”  handle  is  a  “ledge”  handle  made  into  a  round  knob. 
2  See  Macalister,  Excavation  of  Gezer,  II,  158. 


144 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


shoulders,  short  concave  neck,  continuous  circular  mouth,  with 
an  expanded  rim,  though  much  narrower  than  in  the  preceding 
period,  is  the  most  common  type.  Jugs  with  pointed  bottoms  also 
became  common,  though  there  was  a  great  variety  in' the  shapes  of 
jugs.  Ledge  handles  had  almost  entirely  disappeared  in  this  period. 
Jars  generally  had  two  loop  handles,  and  sometimes  four,  though 
occasionally  they  had  none  at  all.  “Button”  handles  are  com¬ 
paratively  uncommon;  the  loop  handle  is  the  style  most  generally 
used.  “Ear”  handles,  both  vertical  and  transverse,  are  also  com¬ 
mon;  (see  Figs.  101-103,  and  105). 

The  most  striking  feature  of  the  pottery  of  this  period  is  the 
increase  in  the  variety  of  ornamentation  and  the  introduction  of 
the  pictures  of  animals  and  birds  as  ornamental  motifs.  This  was 
due,  no  doubt,  to  foreign  influence.  The  best  specimens  of  this 
type  of  ornamentation  so  far  published  are  from  Gezer,  though 
it  is  found  elsewhere. 

All  kinds  of  vessels  were  made  of  clay  during  this  period:  jars, 
jugs,  pitchers,  bowls,  saucers,  drinking-cups,  etc.,  etc.  Many  of 
the  potters  signed  their  work  with  a  peculiar  mark.  This  mark 
was  sometimes  an  impression  of  the  potter’s  finger,  sometimes 
linear  devices  of  various  kinds  scratched  on  the  handle,  and  some¬ 
times  the  impression  of  an  inscribed  Egyptian  scarab,  usually  of 
the  period  of  the  Middle  Kingdom  or  the  Hyksos  time.  Jar  handles 
marked  with  scarabs  were  also  found  at  Jericho;  (Figs.  118,  119). 

5.  Third  Semitic  Period. — The  third  Semitic  period,  1400  to 
1000  b.  c.,  while  its  wares  sometimes  differed  in  form  from  those 
of  the  preceding  period,  is  mainly  marked  off  from  the  second 
period  by  a  general  degeneration  in  style.  No  great  differences  are 
noticeable  in  the  kinds  of  clay  employed.  The  jars  have,  as  a  rule, 
a  less  pointed  bottom  than  in  the  preceding  period;  (Fig.  110).  The 
combed  decoration  is  rare,  and  the  burnishing  of  the  jars  is  both 
less  frequent  and  less  skilful  than  in  the  preceding  period.  There 
is  an  increase  in  the  tendency  to  use  painted  ornamentation,  which 
frequently  consists  of  zigzag  lines.  Rough,  conventionalized  repre¬ 
sentations  of  palm  trees  are  also  common.  In  the  last  part  of  the 
period  Cretan  influences  are  traceable.  This  was  probably  due  to 
the  coming  of  the  Philistines.1  Potters’  marks  continue,  but  scarabs 
are  less  often  used  in  making  them  than  in  the  preceding  period. 
The  various  kinds  of  vessels  made  seem  to  have  been  as  great 

1  See  Chapter  V,  p.  115,  f.,  and  Figs.  108,  109. 


POTTERY 


145 


as  in  the  preceding  period.  A  clay  funnel  or  bottle-filler  was  also 
found  in  this  period;  (see  Fig.  114).  ^ 

6.  Israeli tish  or  Fourth  Semitic  Period. — In  the  fourth  Semitic, 
or  the  Israelitish  period,  1000-600  b.  c.,  the  method  of  manufac¬ 
ture  remained  the  same  as  before,  and  but  little  difference  can  be 
discerned  in  the  clays  empjoyed.  There  seems,  however,  to  have 
been  a  steady  decline  in  excellence.  The  large  jar  with  pointed 
bottom  is  still  found,  but  there  is  a  tendency  to  broaden  the  bot¬ 
tom,  while  retaining  the  convex  form.  Thus  toward  the  close  of 
the  period  a  type  of  jar,  conical  in  form,  but  with  the  apex  of  the 
cone  at  the  top  instead  of  at  the  bottom,  is  found.  The  types  of 
pottery  of  this  time  may  be  seen  by  examining  the  forms  found 
in  the  Hebrew  stratum  at  Jericho  (Figs.  107,  112,  113),  and 
from  a  temple  at  Megiddo.of  the  same  period.  (Fig.  111.)  The 
forms  and  kinds  of  vessels  found  in  this  period  are  numerous. 
Painted  ornamentation  consists,  as  a  rule,  merely  of  rings  around 
the  vessel,  though  sometimes  zigzags  made  very  carelessly  are  also 
found.  Bird  ornamentation,  so  frequent  in  the  third  period,  en¬ 
tirely  disappears  in  this.  The  potters  still  employed  marks.  These 
are  of  the  same  general  character  as  in  the  earlier  period,  though 
the  scarab  stamp  entirely  disappeared  from  Gezer  and  the  use  of 
other  seals  became  common.  These  were  most  often  a  simple 
device  of  stars,  or  names  written  in  the  old  Hebrew  script.  At 
Jericho  the  scarab  stamp  was  still  employed;  (see  Figs.  115,  117). 

Some  jar  handles  inscribed  with  Hebrew  letters  were  found 
at  Gezer  in  a  stratum  that  was  pre-exilic.  A  series  of  them  was 
also  found  at  the  tells  excavated  by  Bliss  and  Macalister  in 
the  Shephelah  in  the  years  1898-1900 — Es-Safi,  Judeideh,  and 
Zakariyeh.  These  handles,  in  addition  to  the  impression  of  a 
seal,  contained  the  words,  “to  the  king,”  in  Hebrew  letters,  and 
the  names  of  the  cities,  Hebron,  Socho,  Ziph,  and  Mamsheth. 
The  first  three  of  these  are  well-known  Judaean  towns;  the  last 
is  unidentified.  Sir  Charles  Warren  found  some  similar  stamps 
near  the  temple  area  at  Jerusalem.  There  has  been  much  dis¬ 
cussion  as  to  the  date  of  the  handles  bearing  these  stamps. 
Since  nothing  of  the  kind  was  found  at  Megiddo  and  Taanach,  it 
has  been  inferred  that  this  kind  of  jar  handle  came  into  existence 
after  the  overthrow  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel  in  the  year  722  b.  c. 
It  may  be  that  the  “king”  referred  to  is  the  king  of  Judah,  and  that 
these  stamps  come  from  the  last  days  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah. 


146 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Scholarly  opinion  is,  however,  divided,  some  authorities  contending 
that  they  come  from  the  time  after  the  Exile.  The  date  is  not 
entirely  certain;  (see  Fig.  116) A 

7.  Hellenistic  Period. — In  the  time  after  the  Exile  there  is  not 
much  change  in  the  character  of  the  pottery  until  after  the  con¬ 
quest  of  Alexander  the  Great.  The  influx  of  influences  from  the 
Graeco-Macedonian  world  affected  the  whole  life  of  the  land,  and 
was  reflected  also  in  its  pottery.  As  in  the  second  and  third 
Semitic  periods,  there  were  importations  of  pottery  from  abroad, 
though  at  this  time  the  importations  were  from  regions  affected  by 
Greek  art.  The  Palestinian  potters  of  this  period  had,  therefore, 
the  best  models.  The  use  of  the  potters’  wheel  was  all  but  universal, 
and  the  wares  were  burned  hard.  A  pile  of  these  potsherds,  when 
struck  with  a  stick,  emits  a  distinct  musical  “clink,”  which  is  not 
the  case  with  potsherds  from  the  earlier  periods.  The  clay  employed 
was  the  finest  and  most  homogeneous  of  any  used  in  Palestinian 
pottery,  and  there  is  a  general  tendency,  especially  in  the  cities 
near  the  coast,  to  follow  classical  models;  (see  Figs.  122,  125). 

Jars  have  rounded  or  bluntly  pointed  bases,  vertical  sides,  flat¬ 
tened  or  oblique  shoulders,  and  round  mouths.  There  are  two 
loop  handles  just  under  the  shoulders.  Another  form,  probably 
suggested  by  Rhodian  amphorae,  has  a  long,  tapering  base;  (see 
Fig.  120). 

It  is  impossible  in  the  space  that  can  be  devoted  to  this  topic  to 
enumerate  all  the  kinds  of  vessels  that  were  made  in  this  period  or 
the  variety  of  their  forms.  Only  a  few  characteristic  features  can  be 
noted.  The  cooking  pots  of  this  time  have  a  very  distinctive  form. 
They  have  a  globular  base,  globular  body,  short,  wide  neck,  and  a 
rounded  continuous  mouth;  (see  Fig.  1225a).  The  body  of  the  vessel 
is  often  ribbed  with  horizontal  flutings.  Small  jugs  and  vases  were 
very  common;  some  of  them  had  very  characteristic  forms.  Jugs 
of  this  period  found  at  Jericho  had  a  funnel  at  the  side  through 
which  liquid  could  be  poured  into  them. 

As  in  the  preceding  period,  jar  handles  were  frequently  stamped 
with  the  mark  of  the  potter.  These  were  now  often  Greek  letters, 
though  those  so  stamped  were  apparently  imported  from  foreign 
countries.  At  Jericho  ten  jar  handles  were  found  stamped  with  the 

1  For  discussions  of  the  subject,  see  Bliss  and  Macalister,  Excavations  in  Palestine,  i8q8-iqoo, 
106-123;  Macalister  in  the  Quarterly  Statement  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  1905,  243  and 
328;  also  Excavation  of  Gezer,  II,  209,  ff.,  and  Vincent,  Canaan  d’apres  V exploration  recente,  pp.  357- 
360. 


POTTERY 


147 


name  “Jah”  and  three  stamped  with  the  name  “Jahu.”1  Both  Jah 
(see  Psa.  68  :  4)  and  Jahu  are  abbreviations  of  the  name  Jehovah, 
and  probably  are  so  to  be  understood  here.  They  often  formed 
part  of  a  personal  name — thus  Elijah,  “My  God  is  Jah.” 

From  the  second  Semitic  period  onward,  filters  were  made  by 
piercing  the  bottom  of  a  jug  with  holes.  These  became  more  com¬ 
mon  in  the  third  Semitic  period,  but  this  sort  of  device  reached  its 
full  development  in  the  Hellenistic  period,  which  we  are  now  con¬ 
sidering.  Various  forms  of  strainers  were  found,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
123,  and  one  very  elaborate  filter;  (see  Fig.  121). 

With  the  coming  of  the  Romans  in  63  b.  c.,  new  influences  were 
introduced  into  the  civilization  of  Palestine.  In  time  these  influ¬ 
ences  modified  the  pottery,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  had 
an  appreciable  effect  until  after  the  New  Testament  times.  Pots 
from  the  Roman  period  found  at  Gezer  (see  Fig.  124)  differ  from 
those  of  the  Hellenistic  period  chiefly  in  having  bottoms  that  are 
more  nearly  flat.  By  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Constantine  a  change 
can  be  noted,  so  that  pottery  of  the  Byzantine  period  (325-637 
A.  D.)  has  characteristics  of  its  own.  That  period,  however,  lies 
beyond  the  range  of  Biblical  history. 

In  the  study  of  pottery  one  of  the  most  interesting  topics  is  the 
evolution  of  the  lamp.  The  earliest  lamps  were  simply  wicks 
stuck  into  a  saucer  of  oil  and  ignited.  Of  course,  the  wick  would 
easily  fall  down  into  the  oil  and  the  light  would  be  extinguished. 
The  earliest  device  to  prevent  this  was  to  make  the  saucer  of  irregu¬ 
lar  shape,  with  a  slight  notch  in  one  side  in  which  the  wick  could  lie. 
(See  the  right-hand  lamp  in  Fig.  127.)  As  time  went  on  this  rest¬ 
ing-place  for  the  wick  developed  more  and  more  into  a  spout.  (See 
Fig.  126  and  the  left-hand  lamp  in  Fig.  127.) 

This  form  of  lamp  was  known  as  early  as  the  first  Semitic  period, 
and  persisted  with  slight  development  down  through  the  Israelitish 
time;  (see  Fig.  128).  Its  development  was  not,  however,  uni¬ 
form  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  Israelitish  lamps  found  at  Jericho 
appear  to  be  simply  saucers  with  two  or  more  indentations  in  the 
rim;  (see  Fig.  132).  Perhaps  in  these  more  than  one  wick  was 
used.  In  the  Hellenistic  period  two  improvements  in  the  making 
of  lamps  occurred.  The  first  consisted  in  a  still  further  devel¬ 
opment  of  the  spout  until  its  sides  almost  met  and  formed  nearly 
a  closed  vessel.  The  second  improvement  was,  perhaps,  due  to 

1  See  Selim,  Jericho,  p.  156. 


148 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


outside  influences.  It  consisted  in  making  the  saucer  small  and 
covered.  In  the  middle  of  the  cover  was  a  small  round  hole  into 
which  the  oil  was  poured;  at  one  side  a  spout  protruded  and  the 
wick  came  out  through  this;  (see  Fig.  131).  The  top  of  such 
lamps  was  ornamented  with  various  designs. 

In  the  Byzantine  and  Arabic  periods  the  same  general  style  of 
lamp  was  used,  but  the  shape  and  ornamentation  of  each  period  were 
different,  so  that  they  can  easily  be  distinguished;  (see  Fig.  129). 
After  the  country  became  Christian  the  ornamentation  on  the 
lamps  was  often  made  with  Greek  letters.  These  were  made  in 
ornamental  forms  and  usually  expressed  some  Christian  sentiment. 
One  of  the  most  popular  legends  for  these  Christian  lamps  was: 
“The  light  of  Christ  shines  for  all”;  (see  Fig.  130). 

It  was  lamps  such  as  these,  probably  of  the  Hellenistic  type,  to 
which  Christ  alluded  in  the  parable  of  the  wise  and  foolish  virgins 
(Matt.  25  :  1-12).  Such  a  lamp  would  not  contain  oil  enough  to 
burn  all  night,  so  that  to  carry  it  to  a  prolonged  wedding-feast 
without  a  supply  of  oil  was  a  powerful  example  of  improvidence. 


CHAPTER  IX 


UTENSILS  AND  PERSONAL  ORNAMENTS 

Utensils:  Ovens.  Baking-trays.  Bowls,  etc.  Feeding-bottles.  Glassware. 
Spoons.  Forks  or  Flesh-hooks.  Needles.  Spinning  “Whorls.”  Lamp-stands. 
Keys.  Knives.  Saws.  Chisels.  Awls.  Axes.  Adzes.  Whetstones.  Files.  Ham¬ 
mers.  Nails.  Baskets.  Arrows.  Spears.  Swords.  Fish-hooks.  Styli.  Seals. 
The  “Pipe.”  Harps.  The  Dulcimer.  Lyres.  Children’s  toys.  Personal  Orna¬ 
ments:  Combs.  Perfume-boxes.  Spatulae  for  eye-paint,  etc.  Fibulae.  Beads. 
Necklaces.  Bracelets.  Anklets.  Rings. 

1.  Utensils. — The  term  “utensil”  is  of  wide  application.  The 
utensils  of  agriculture  and  the  hand-mills  for  grinding  grain  have 
been  described  in  Chapter  VII.  Among  the  devices  used  in  con¬ 
nection  with  Palestinian  houses  one  of  the  most  important  was  the 
oven. 

(1)  Ovens. — The  ovens  of  ancient  Palestine  were  of  the  same 
kind  as  those  used  by  the  peasantry  of  that  country  today.  Each 
consists  of  a  cylinder  of  baked  earth  about  2  feet  in  diameter  and 
lj  inches  thick.  It  is  closed  by  a  cover  of  the  same  material,  in 
which  a  stone  or  lump  of  clay  has  been  embedded  as  a  handle. 
There  is  rarely  any  bottom  except  the  bare  earth.  The  loaves, 
which  were  flat  discs,  were  usually  placed  inside,  either  on  the 
ground  covered  with  clean  pebbles  or  on  a  baking-tray.  Sometimes 
the  loaves  were  plastered  over  the  outside  of  the  oven.  In  this 
case  the  fire  was  built  inside  and  might  consist  of  grass  (Matt.  6:30; 
Luke  12  :  28).  The  fire  was  usually  heaped  about  the  outside  of 
the  oven,  and  often  consisted  of  dried  manure.  It  is  this  use  of 
manure  as  fuel  that  is  alluded  to  in  Ezek.  4  :  12-15 — a  passage  that 
has  sometimes  been  greatly  misunderstood.  Such  ovens  were  fre¬ 
quently  found  in  all  the  strata.  In  Fig.  133  two  varieties  of  ovens 
are  shown.  The  one  at  the  left  hand  is  made  of  plain  tile;  the  other 
is  covered  over  with  potsherds,  to  make  it  retain  the  heat  longer. 
Sometimes  in  large  houses  groups  of  several  ovens  were  found 
together. 

Ovens  are  frequently  referred  to  in  the  Bible,  sometimes  as  sym¬ 
bols  of  things  that  are  hot.  (See  Lev.  11  :  35;  26  :  26;  Psa.  21  :  9; 

149 


150 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Hosea  7:4,  6,  7.)  Once  a  much-used  oven  is  a  symbol  of  black¬ 
ness  (Lam.  5  :  10). 

(2)  Baking-trays ,  consisting  of  discs  of  baked  clay  about  10 
inches  in  diameter,  were  also  found.  These  were  usually  turned  up 
at  the  edges,  and  frequently  perforated  in  order  better  to  admit  the 
heat  to  the  under  side  of  the  loaf.  One  specimen  was  found  burnt 
through  with  constant  use.  These  trays  were  most  numerous  at 
Gezer  in  the  second  and  third  Semitic  periods.  They  were  found 
at  Jericho  in  the  Jewish  stratum;  (see  Fig.  134). 

(3)  Bowls ,  etc. — In  Chapter  VIII,  under  the  head  of  Pottery, 
the  jars,  pitchers,  clay  bowls,  saucers,  and  cups  which  were  used 
about  Palestinian  homes  have  already  been  described.  Bowls 
and  saucers  of  stone  were  also  employed  from  the  earliest  times. 
They  were  far  less  fragile,  though  more  expensive.  Probably 
the  dishes  used  by  the  common  people  were  in  all  periods  made  of 
clay.  After  the  introduction  of  metal,  however,  the  wealthy  often 
had  dishes  of  bronze  (see  Fig.  135),  and  sometimes  of  silver.  A 
Philistine  grave  at  Gezer  yielded  some  silver  dishes  of  beautiful 
workmanship;  (see  Figs.  137,  141). 

(4)  Feeding-bottles. — A  number  of  curiously  shaped  jars  with 
spouts  were  found  at  Gezer;  (see  Fig.  139).  Mr.  Macalister  was 
at  a  loss  to  explain  their  use  unless  they  were  feeding-bottles.  The 
only  other  suggestion  that  he  makes  is  that  they  were  lamps,  but 
they  are  so  different  from  the  lamps  of  the  time,  that  that  possi¬ 
bility  seems  to  be  excluded.  Sellin  thought  similar  objects  found 
by  him  were  vessels  for  pouring  oil.  This  may  have  been  their 
purpose. 

(5)  Glassware. — Vessels  of  glass  are  very  rare  in  Palestine  until 
Roman  times.  In  the  remains  of  the  third  Semitic  period  at  Gezer 
fragments  of  ornamented  glass  vessels,  which  had  been  imported 
from  Egypt,  were  found.  The  ornamentation  consisted  of  zig¬ 
zag  lines.  Clear  glass  first  appears  in  the  Israelitish  period,  but 
it  was  rare  and  inartistic.  After  the  coming  of  the  Romans  it  be¬ 
came  more  common.  For  examples  of  its  use,  see  the  ointment 
vessels  in  Fig.  138. 

(6)  Spoons. — The  spoons  of  the  poor  were  in  all  periods  appar¬ 
ently  adapted  from  shells,  as  shown  in  Fig.  136,  but  the  more 
wealthy,  especially  when  under  the  influence  of  more  artistic  for¬ 
eigners,  had  ladles  of  metal  that  seem  very  modern;  (see  Fig. 
141).  These  objects  are  from  a  Philistine  tomb. 


UTENSILS  AND  PERSONAL  ORNAMENTS  151 


(7)  Forks  or  Flesh-hooks. — Forks  were  in  existence,  as  shown  in 
Fig.  140,  but  were  used  not  to  eat  with,  but  to  handle  meat  when  it 
was  cooking.  The  one  with  three  prongs  in  Fig.  143  reminds  one  of 
the  “flesh-hook  of  three  teeth”  that  the  servant  of  Hophni  and 
Phinehas,  sons  of  Eli,  thrust  into  the  caldron  of  seething  sacrificial 
flesh,  in  order  to  obtain  the  priest’s  portion  (1  Sam.  2  :  13,  14). 

(8)  Needles ,  both  of  bone  and  bronze,  ^were  found.  They 
were  employed  from  the  earliest  times  in  such  sewing  as  was 
necessary.  The  way  the  eyes  were  made  may  be  seen  in  Fig. 
142.  These  give  vivid  reality  to  the  saying  of  Christ  “It  is 
easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  a  needle’s  eye  than  for  a  rich  man 
to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God”  (Matt.  19  :  24;  Mark  10  :  25; 
Luke  18  : 25). 

(9)  Spinning  “Whorls.” — Spinning  in  ancient  Palestine,  as  now, 
was  done  in  the  simplest  possible  manner.  A  tapering  spindle  was 
made  of  wood.  To  this  was  attached  a  “whorl” — either  a  stone  or 
a  lump  of  baked  clay — in  order  to  give  the  spindle  momentum  when 
whirled.  The  wool  was  held  in  the  hand,  a  bit  of  it  twisted  into  a 
thread  with  the  fingers  and  attached  to  the  spindle.  Then  more 
of  the  wool  was  pulled  out  and  held  in  the  hand  while  the  spindle 
and  whorl  were  given  a  twist  with  the  other  hand  and  allowed  to 
twist  the  wool  into  thread.  The  process  was  repeated  again  and 
again.  The  writer  has  seen  women  in  the  East  spinning  while  on  a 
journey.  Many  of  the  spindle  whorls,  made  both  of  stone  and  of 
clay,  have  been  found  by  excavators;  (see  Figs.  144,  145). 

(10)  Lamp-stands. — In  one  of  the  palaces  at  Megiddo  a  number  of 
bronze  tripods  of  various  sorts  were  found;  (see  Fig.  148).  The 
tallest  of  these  were  13|  and  14  inches  in  height.  They  were  in¬ 
tended  to  support  either  bowls  or  lamps.  They  are  the  kind  of 
“stand”  mentioned  in  Matt.  5:15  (R.  V. — the  King  James  Version 
called  it  a  “candlestick”),  on  which  men,  when  they  lighted  a 
lamp,  placed  it  so  that  it  might  “give  light  to  all  that  are  in 
the  house.”  Probably  the  poor  had  some  less  expensive  form  of 
lamp-stand. 

(11)  Keys  in  Palestine  were  often  large,  clumsy  affairs.  They 
were  probably  most  often  made  of  wood,  and  were  much  bet¬ 
ter  fitted  to  be  carried  on  the  shoulder,  as  a  wood-chopper  often 
carries  his  axe,  than  to  be  carried  in  a  pocket.  This  is  why 
Isaiah  (22  :  22)  speaks  of  laying  the  key  of  the  house  of  David  on 
the  shoulder  of  Eliakim.  Of  course,  all  wooden  keys  of  the  Biblical 


152 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


time  have  decayed.  Iron  keys  from  the  Hellenistic  time  were 
found  at  Gezer,  two  of  which  are  shown  in  Figs.  146, 147. 

(12)  Knives. — One  of  the  first  implements  made  by  man  as 
he  emerges  from  savagery  is  the  knife.  The  earliest  knives  of 
Palestine  were  of  flint,  which  is  in  that  country  very  abundant. 
Flint  knives  are  made  by  taking  a  cone  of  flint  that  will  easily  flake, 
and  skilfully  striking  the  top  of  it  such  a  blow  that  a  ribbon  having 
a  sharp  edge  is  split  off.  At  Gezer  one  of  these  cones,  left  by  an 
ancient  flint  knife-maker,  was  found;  (see  Fig.  154).  After  the 
introduction  of  bronze  in  the  first  Semitic  period,  2500-1800  b.  c., 
knives  were  often  made  of  that;  (see  Fig.  151).  When,  about  1000 
b.  c.,  iron  came  in,  it,  too,  was  employed  for  knife-making;  (see  Fig. 
150).  Flint  knives  were  always  cheaper  than  those  of  metal  and 
were  probably  always  employed  by  the  common  people.  Knives 
are  referred  to  in  the  Bible  as  the  implements  for  slaying  sacrifices 
(Gen.  22  : 6,  10),  and  in  various  other  connections.  (See,  for 
example,  Ezek.  5  :  1,  2.)  Flint  knives  were  preferred  for  the  rite  of 
circumcision  (Exod.  4  :  25  and  Josh.  5  :  2,  3) ;  (see  Fig.  149). 

(13)  Saws. — Ribbon-flint  knives  easily  pass  into  saws  when  the 
edge  is  irregular.  A  number  of  these  came  to  light  in  the  course 
of  the  excavation  of  Gezer.  Saws  are  referred  to  in  2  Sam.  12  :  31 
and  in  1  Kings  7  :  9.  Saws  made  of  thin,  flexible  strips  of  metal 
existed.  These  were  set  in  wooden  frames.  Very  meager  frag¬ 
ments  of  these  have  been  found. 

(14)  Chisels  were  fairly  common  at  Gezer  in  all  strata  after 
the  introduction  of  bronze.  They  were  made  usually  of  bronze, 
even  after  the  introduction  of  iron,  although  iron  chisels  were 
found.  As  the  chisel  is  one  of  the  most  necessary  tools  of  a  car¬ 
penter,  our  Lord  must  often  have  used  one  in  the  days  before  his 
ministry;  (see  Fig.  152). 

(15)  Awls. — The  awl  is  also  a  very  useful  tool.  In  ancient  Gezer 
they  were  often  set  in  bone  handles.  Modern  Palestinian  carpen¬ 
ters  employ  a  heated  awl  to  make  a  hole  in  timber  without  splitting 
it.  As  ancient  carpenters  probably  had  the  same  custom,  the 
awl  was  also  one  of  the  implements  often  used  by  Christ;  (Fig.  157). 

(16)  Axes  were  found  from  the  second  Semitic  stratum  onward. 
Those  from  the  earlier  time  were  made,  of  course,  of  bronze;  the 
later  ones  of  iron.  In  a  few  the  butt  of  the  axe-head  was  perforated 
to  receive  a  thong  to  lash  it  to  the  helve.  How  necessary  this  was  is 
shown  by  such  passages  as  Deut.  19  : 5  and  2  Kings  6:5.  A 


UTENSILS  AND  PERSONAL  ORNAMENTS  153 


bronze  double-edged  axe  was  also  found  in  the  second  Semitic 
stratum;  (see  Fig.  160). 

(17)  Adzes. — A  few  specimens  of  the  adze  were  also  found; 
(see  Fig.  161).  One  of  these  was  of  bone. 

(18)  Whetstones. — Tools,  of  course,  needed  sharpening,  and 

various  specimens  of  whetstones  were  found;  (see  Fig.  158).  It 
is  difficult  to  distinguish  these  from  “rubbing-stones,”  which  were 
used  when  bathing  to  rub  hardened  skin  from  the  body.  •  The  same 
stone  may  at  times  have  served  both  purposes.  -  , 

(19)  Files. — A  bronze  file  was  made  by  perforating  a  tube  of 
bronze  with  holes  and  leaving  the  rough  edges  made  in  the  per-* 
f oration  protruding;  (see  Fig.  153).  These  were  probably  used, 
however,  for  crumbing  bread,  and  not  for  sharpening  tools. 

(20)  Hammers. — Many  stone  hammers  from  every  period  of 
Palestinian  history  have  been  found.  The  stone  hammer  seems  to 
have  persisted  even  after  the  introduction  of  metal.  Bronze  ham¬ 
mers  are  rare.  Probably  the  hammer  with  which  Jael  killed  Sisera 
(Judges  4  :  21;  5  :  26)  was  of  stone;  also  the  one  referred  to  in  Jer. 
23  :  29;  (see  Fig.  155). 

(21)  Nails  have  been  found  in  profusion,  made  both  of  bronze 
and  of  iron;  (see  Fig.  159).  As  soon  as  iron  was  introduced  into 
the  country  it  was  generally  employed  in  making  nails.  Christ, 
as  a  carpenter,  must  have  employed  a  hammer,  and  often  have 
driven  nails. 

(22)  Baskets  are  used  in  Palestine,  as  in  other  countries,  for  all 
sorts  of  purposes.  They  are  frequently  referred  to-  in  the  Bible. 
(See  Deut.  26  :  2,  4;  28  :  5,  17;  Judges  6  :  19;  Amos  8  :  1,  2.)  The 
basket  of  the  modern  Palestinian  peasant  is  usually  made  by  sewing 
together  a  coil  of  rope  made  of  straw  or  reeds.  After  the  mat  thus 
formed  has  become  large  enough  for  the  bottom  of  the  basket,  it  is 
given  an  upward  turn  to  form  the  sides.  In  excavating  the  water- 
passage  at  Gezer  interesting  evidence  came  to  light  of  the  existence 
of  such  baskets  in  ancient  times.  One  of  them  had  been  left  on 
some  soft  earth  in  the  tunnel,  and,  although  the  basket  itself  had 
long  ago  decayed,  the  form  of  it  was  still  visible  on  the  hardened 
clod  on  which  it  had  rested;  (see  Fig.  163). 

(23)  Arrows. — Of  implements  of  warfare  some  portions  have 
survived.  One  of  these  was  the  arrow,  which  is  mentioned  more 
than  fifty  times  in  the  Bible,  and  is  employed  in  many  metaphors. 
Arrows  were  made  of  a  light  perishable  shaft  to  which  an  arrow- 


154 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


head  of  flint  or  bronze  was  attached.  This  head  terminated  in  a 
point,  which  inflicted  the  wound.  Arrow-heads  were  found  in  the 
Palestinian  strata  later  than  the  cave-dwellers;  (Figs.  164, 165, 166). 

(24)  Spears . — The  spear  consisted  of  a  long  shaft  with  a  metal 
head,  that  could  be  thrown  at  an  enemy.  It  is  often  called  a 
javelin.  Such  weapons  are  alluded  to  in  the  Bible  almost  as  often 
as  arrows.  The  excavations  have  yielded  a  good  variety  of  bronze 
spear-heads;  (see  Fig.  167). 

(25)  Swords. — The  swords  of  ancient  Palestine  were  used  for 
thrusting  rather  than  for  cutting.  (See  1  Sam.  31  : 5;  2  Sam.  2  : 
16.)  The.  blades  are,  therefore,  short  and  pointed;  (see  Fig.  166). 
Sometimes  the  edges  are  actually  thickened.  A  fine  scimitar, 
found  in  a  tomb  in  which  other  objects  revealed  Mycenean  in¬ 
fluence,  is  a  great  exception  to  the  ordinary  form  of  sword  found  in 
Palestine;  (see  Fig.  162). 

(26)  Fish-hooks. — Spears  and  arrows  could,  of  course,  be  used  m 
hunting  as  well  as  in  war,  but  a  fish-hook  found  at  Gezer  (see  Fig. 
156)  is  of  especial  interest  to  the  student  of  the  Bible,  since  some  of 
the  most  prominent  apostles,  Peter,  Andrew,  James,  and  John,  were 
fishermen.  The  fishing  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee  seems  to  have  been 
done  usually  with  nets.  Nevertheless,  perhaps  even  there  a  hook 
was  sometimes*  employed. 

(27)  Styli. — The  implements  of  the  scribe  which  have  survived 
are  all. specimens  of  a. stylus  for  writing  on  clay  or  wax;  (see  Fig. 
178).  The  usual  length  of  these  styli  was  3|  to  4 J  inches.  In  the 
Hellenistic  stratum  at  Gezer,  however,  one  was  found  as  short  as 
2\  inches;  also  one  as.  long  as  12  inches.  It  was  a  stylus  of  the 
average  kind  found  at  Gezer  that  Isaiah  was  directed  to  use  as  re¬ 
corded  in  Isa.  8:1. 

(28)  Seals. — Closely  connected  with  the  work  of  the  scribe  are 
the  seals  which  are  found  wherever  a  mound  is  thoroughly  exca¬ 
vated.  These  were  sometimes  Egyptian  scarabs,  but  more  often, 
especially  in  thedater  periods,  various  figures  and  devices  carved  on 
a  stone;  (see  Fig.  175).  They  might  or  might  not  contain  the 
name  of  the  owner.  The  famous  seal  of  Shema,  mentioned  on 
p.  97,  contained  his  name,  but  often  they  appear  simply  to  have 
been  a  kind  of  mark  of  their  owners.  They  might  be  impressed  on 
clay  or  wax,  and,  as  we  have  seen  (p.  144),  potters  used  them  to 
identify  their  work.  If  the  writing  was  on  a  clay  tablet  the 
seals  were  rolled  over  its  edge  (see  Job  38  : 14),  or  over  any  un- 


UTENSILS  AND  PERSONAL  ORNAMENTS  155 


written  portion  of  its  surface.  This  took  the  place  of  the  signa¬ 
ture  of  the  writer.  On  the  use  of  seals  in  Bible  times,  see  1  Kings 
21  : 8. 

(29)  The  “Pipe.” — The  people  of  Palestine  have  always  been 
fond  of  music,  though  in  modern  times  their  music  is  of  a  rude  and 
primitive  sort.  Probably  in  ancient  times  it  did  not  rise  to  any¬ 
thing  like  modern  standards.  At  least  one  musical  instrument  has 
been  brought  to  light  by  the  excavations.  It  is  a  part  of  a  stone 
whistle  or  “pipe”  found  in  the  third  Semitic  stratum — the  period 
just  before  the  coming  of  Israel.  It  is  conical  in  shape,  and  about 
4  inches  long,  lj  inches  wide  at  one  end,  and  about  §  inch  wide 
at  the  mouthpiece.  It  was  perforated  at  the  side  by  two 
holes;  (see  Fig.  168).  Probably  a  mouthpiece  of  reed  was  fitted 
into  it.  It  was  possible  to  make  several  notes  on  it.  This  is 
probably  a  rude  example  of  the  “pipe,”  said  to  have  been  invented 
by  Jubal  (Gen.  4  :  21),  and  often  mentioned  in  the  Bible.  (See 
1  Sam.  10  :  5;  1  Kings  1  : 40;  Isa.  5  :  12;  1  Cor.  14  :  7.)  The 
Hebrew  word  for  pipe  means  “a  pierced”  or  “perforated  thing,” 
and  this  stone  whistle  answers  the  description  well. 

(30)  Harps. — Other  musical  instruments  were,  not  made  of 
material,  that  could,  survive;  nevertheless  from  the  Babylonian, 
Assyrian,  and  Egyptian  sculptures  we  have  some  idea  of  their  form. 
Of  these,  the  harp  is  mentioned  mor'e  than  forty  times,  in  the  Bible. 
For  the  forms  of  ancient  harps,  see  Figs.  169—172. 

(31)  The  Dulcimer. — This  musical  instrument  is  mentioned  in 
Dan.  3  :  5,  15.  An  Assyrian  dulcimer  is  shown  in  Fig.  174. 

(32)  Lyres. — A  kind  of  lyre  is  pictured  on  certain  Jewish  coins; 
(see  Fig.  173). 

(33)  Children’s  Toys. — A  touch  of  nature  that  links  the  ancient 
world  with  ours  is  found  in  the  toys  of  children.  Both  from 
Babylonia  and  Palestine  clay  ratfles  have  been  recovered.  A  series 
found  at  Gezer  is  shown  in  Fig.  179.  In  addition  to  these  rattles 
many  grotesque  animal  figures  came  to  light  through  the  various 
excavations;  these  figures  were  probably  made  for  children  to  play 
with.  One  or  two  had.  a  hole  drilled  through  a  leg,  apparently  for 
the  insertion  of  a  string  by  which  a  child  could  drag  it.  The 
workmen  who  removed  the  earth  sometimes  begged  for  permission 
to  take  them  home  for  their  own  children  to  play  with1;  (see 
Fig.  177). 

1  For  a  fuller  discussion  of  children’s  toys,  see  Rice,  Orientalisms  in  Bible  Lands,  pp.  49-58. 


156 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


2.  Personal  Ornaments. 

(1)  Combs. — Of  toilet  articles  the  most  universal  is  the  comb. 
These  were  made  of  bone  or  ivory.  They  were  both  straight  and 
curved,  ornamented  and  unornamented.  A  fragment  of  one  from 
Gezer  is  shown  in  Fig.  176. 

(2)  Perfume-boxes. — The  ancients  were  fond  of  perfume.  “Per¬ 
fumed  with  myrrh  and  frankincense,  with  all  powders  of  the 
merchant”  is  a  Hebrew  poet’s  description  of  an  elegantly  dressed 
man.  (See  Cant.  3  :  6.)  Perfume-boxes,  in  which  the  various 
kinds  of  perfume  were  kept,  frequently  are  found  in  excava¬ 
ting;  (see,  for  example,  Fig.  180).  Women’s  perfume-boxes  are 
denounced  in  Isa.  3  :  20. 

(3)  Spatulce  for  Eye-paint ,  etc. — Little  spatulas,  or  tools  for 
lifting  small  quantities  of  cosmetics,  were  also  found;  (see  Fig.  183). 
These  were  probably  most  often  used  to  apply  kohl  to  the  eyelids — 
a  practice  that  was  thought  to  enhance  the  beauty  of  women  (see 
Ezek.  23  : 40)  and  which  is  still  followed  in  the  East. 

(4)  Fibulce. — Another  article  of  the  toilet  which  is  found  in 
abundance  in  all  ancient  excavations  was  the  fibula — a  rude  kind  of 
safety-pin.  The  garments  were  held  together  by  these.  They 
consisted  of  a  kind  of  perforated  bow  through  which  a  pin  could 
be  thrust.  In  the  earlier  periods  the  bow  and  the  pin  were  not 
facfATV^ri  together. 

me  dress  of  the  ancient  Palestinians  was  much  like  that  of 
tile  modern  peasants  of  the  country.  It  was  not,  however,  made 
of  materials  that\would  last  when  buried  in  a  mound.  All  that  has 


surviv 


are  some  articles  of  personal  adornment. 


(5)  Beads  >wpre  highly v  valued  from  the  earliest  times  and  are 
found  in  all  slt&fca.  In  the  earlier  periods  they  were  made  of 
various  colored  sto^s,;  it  is  only  in  the  later  strata  that  some 
glass  beads  are  found.%*)\  v 

(6)  Necklaces. — B eads,  cylinders ,  and  irregularly  shaped  penaants 

were  strung  so  as  to  form  l^fiiaces.  One  found  at  Jericho  is 
shown  in  Fig.  181.  They  are  cl^Md‘chains”  in  Isa.  3  : 19;  Prov. 
1  :  9,  and  “strings  of  jewels”  in  10. 

(7)  Bracelets  and  armlets  have  beerfl^i^d  in  abundance  from 
nearly  all  periods.  They  were  made  of  broji&e,  iron,  fypry,  glass, 
silver,  and  gold.  For  some  of  their  forms,  see^fijg*.  182.  Th^y^are 
frequently  mentioned  in  the  Bible.  (See,  for  exSfcfighi, 

30;  Exod.  35  :  22;  2  Sam.  1  :  10;  Ezek.  16  :  11.) 


UTENSILS  AND  PERSONAL  ORNAMENTS  157 


(8)  Anklets  of  bronze  and  silver  have  also  been  found  in  vari¬ 
ous  places.  They  are  like  bracelets,  only  larger.  In  a  country 
where  the  ankles  were  usually  left  bare,  it  was  as  natural  to  wear 
ornaments  on  them  as  on  the  arms.  These,  too,  are  denounced 
along  with  the  other  ornaments  of  women  in  Isa.  3  :  18. 

(9)  Rings,  too,  of  various  kinds  have  been  found  in  profusion. 
Most  of  the  finger  rings  were  simple  circles  of  metal;  usually  they 
were  of  bronze;  sometimes  of  iron.  Silver  and  gold  rings  were 
comparatively  few  in  number  and  of  small  size.  Several  signet 
ringS  were  found  at  Gezer.  Finger  rings  are  not  often  mentioned 
in  the  Bible.  (See,  however,  Num.  31  : 50.)  They  evidently 
were  highly  regarded  by  well-to-do  people,  for  in  the  Parable  of  the 
Prodigal  Son  Jesus  tells  us  that  the  father  “put  a  ring  on  his  hand” 
(Luke  15  :  22).  Signet  rings  were  the  possessions  of  the  great  and 
of  kings.  (See  Gen.  41  : 42  and  Esther  3  :  10,  12,  and  Fig.  184.) 


CHAPTER  X 


MEASURES,  WEIGHTS,  AND  MONEY 

Measures.  Weights.  Inscribed  Weights.  Money:  Who  invented  coinage? 
Darics.  Maccabsean  coins.  Asmonaean  coins.  Herodian  coins.  Roman  coins.  The 
Widow’s  Mite.  The  Piece  of  Silver.  Coinage  of  the  Revolt  of  66-70  a.  d. 


1.  Measures. — The  Hebrew  units  of  dry  measure  were:  1.  The 
Homer  (or  Cor),  which  contained  10  Ephahs  (Ezek.  45  :  11,  14). 
2.  The  Ephah,  which  contained  3  Seahs  (Isa.  40  :  12)  or  10  Omers 
(Exod.  16  :  36)  or  18  Cabs  (2  Kings  6  :  25,  and  Josephus,  Antiquities , 
IX,  iv,  4). 

Corresponding  to  these  were  the  units  of  liquid  measure:  1.  The 
Homer  (or  Cor),  which  contained  10  Baths  (Ezek.  45  :  11,  14).  2. 

The  Bath,  which,  according  to  Josephus  and  Jerome,  contained  6 
Hins  (see  Exod.  29  :  40).  3.  The  Hin,  which  contained  3  Cabs, or, 
according  to  the  Talmud,  12  Logs. 

These  two  systems  have  the  Homer  as  their  major  unit.  The 
Homer  had  the  same  capacity  in  each  system.  The  Ephah  of  dry 
measure  equalled  the  Bath  of  liquid  measure,  and  the  Cab  was  the 
same  in  each.  If,  then,  the  capacity  of  one  unit  in  either  measure 
could  be  determined,  we  should  know  the  capacity  of  all  the  others. 

It  has  been  the  custom  of  archaeologists  to  strike  a  kind  of  aver¬ 
age  of  the  confused  statements  of  Josephus  and  Epiphanius1  and 
correct  these  by  estimates  based  on  Babylonian  measures. 

Calculations  based  on  this  method  will  be  found  in  recent  works 
on  Hebrew  archaeology  and  dictionaries  of  the  Bible.  It  has  been 
impossible,  however,  to  reach  certainty.  Three  systems  will  be 
found  in  the  books  referred  to:  one  based  on  the  supposition  that 
the  Log  =  t9o-  of  a  pint ;  one  based  on  the  supposition  that  the  Log  = 
tVo  of  a  pint;  the  third  on  the  supposition  that  the  Log  =  1  pint. 
The  estimates  of  the  Homer  vary  accordingly  from  80  gallons  to 
81.25  gallons,  and  89.28  gallons.2 

1  An  early  Christian  writer,  born  in  315,  died  in  403  A.  D.,  who  was  bishop  of  Salamis  in  Cyprus. 

2  From  this  equivalence  the  reader  can  easily  compute  the  value  which  the  intermediate 
measures  would  have  according  to  this  theory.  The  multiples  of  the  Log  which  formed  the 
Cab,  etc.,  are  given  above. 

158 


MEASURES,  WEIGHTS,  AND  MONEY 


159 


Under  these  circumstances  some  discoveries  of  the  Augustinians 
of  the  Assumption,  in  the  grounds  of  their  monastery  in  Jerusalem, 
appear  to  be  of  importance.1  They  found  at  various  times  in 
excavating  for  building  purposes  four  vessels,  which  seem  to  have 
been  a  series  of  measures.  Taking  the  larger  one  as  the  unit,  the 
capacity  of  the  one  next  smaller  is  three-quarters  of  the  capacity 
of  the  first;  the  third  was  just  half  the  first;  the  fourth,  a  quarter 
of  it.  These  vessels  all  appear  to  have  been  in  a  building  which 
had  a  Hebrew  inscription  over  its  door.  Although  the  inscription 
was  broken,  the  word  “Corban”2  was  still  legible.  Pere  Germer- 
Durand  assumes,  accordingly,  that  the  building  was  used  as  a  place 
where  temple  tithes  were  paid,  and  that  this  series  of  vessels  were 
standard  measures  employed  in  collecting  tithes.  The  quantities 
of  material  contained  by  these  vessels  are  as  follows: 

Largest,  21.25  litres  or  19.6  quarts. 

Second,  15.937  litres  or  14.7  quarts. 

Third,  10.625  litres  or  9.8  quarts. 

Fourth,  5.312  litres  or  4.9  quarts. 


Pere  Germer-Durand  thinks  from  a  study  of  Josephus  and  Epi- 
phanius  that  the  largest  of  his  vessels  represents  the  Ephah  of  dry 
measure  or  the  Bath  of  liquid  measure.  If  this  assumption  is 
right,  it  gives  a  series  of  measures  which  are  each  about  Y2  smaller 
than  the  smallest  of  the  series  referred  to  above. 

On  this  basis  Hebrew  dry  measures  become: 

Homer  or  Cor  =  196  quarts  or  6  bushels  and  \  peck. 

Ephah  =  19.6  quarts  or  2  pecks,  3.6  quarts. 

Seah  =  6.533+  quarts. 

Omer  =  1.96  quarts. 

Cab  =  1.888+  quarts. 


Liquid  measure  becomes: 


Homer  or  Cor 

Bath 

Seah 

Hin 

Cab 

Log 


196  quarts  or  49  gallbns. 

19.6  quarts  or  4.9  gallons. 

6.533+  quarts. 

3.266+  quarts. 

1.888+  quarts. 

.272  quarts  or  approximately  ppint. 


1  See  Pere  Germer-Durand,  “Mesures  de  capacite  des  Hebreux  au  temps  de  1’evangile”  in 
Conferences  de  Saint- Atienne,  Paris,  1910,  pp.  89-105,  and  Fig.  185. 

2  The  Jewish  name  for  an  offering  to  God.  (See  Mark  7  :  11.) 


160 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


It  is  not  certain  that  the  vessels  found  by  the  Augustinians  rep¬ 
resent  the  measures  that  Germer-Durand  supposes,  but  it  is  as 
likely  that  they  do  as  that  the  confused  statements  of  Josephus  and 
Epiphanius  afford  an  accurate  basis  for  calculations. 

It  is  probable  that  in  actual  business  there  was  in  ancient  times 
a  great  deal  of  variation  allowed  from  the  ordinary  standard  of 
measures.  We  know  of  no  rigid  regulation  of  the  matter  by  a 
central  authority. 

2.  Weights. — The  two  weights  most  often  mentioned  in  the  Bible 
are  the  talent  and  the  shekel.  The  Bible  nowhere  tells  us  of  how 
many  shekels  a  talent  was  composed.  In  Babylonia  the  talent 
consisted  of  60  manas,1  and  each  mana  of  60  shekels,  so  that  the 
talent  consisted  of  3600  shekels.  The  Phoenicians  divided  the  mana 
into  50  shekels,  and  it  is  thought  by  scholars  that  the  Hebrews  did 
the  same,  though  we  have  no  positive  evidence  on  the  point. 
Manas  are  not  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  unless  in  Dan.  5  :  25. 2 

In  the  course  of  the  excavations  by  Bliss  in  the  Shephelah  a  num¬ 
ber  of  weights  were  found,  some  of  wThich  were  inscribed.  Macalis- 
ter  also  found  a  large  number  of  weights  at  Gezer,  a  few  of  which 
bore  inscriptions.  Some  others  have  been  found  by  natives  and 
purchased  by  travelers.  The  writer  had  the  pleasure  of  discovering 
two  weights  in  this  way. 

3.  Inscribed  Weights. — These  inscribed  weights  are  of  the 
greatest  interest  to  the  students  of  the  Bible.  Five  weights  are 
known  that  are  inscribed  in  old  Hebrew  characters  with  the  word 
neseph,  “half”;  see  Fig.  186.  These  are  undoubtedly  half-shekels. 
Two  of  the  three  are  broken,  and  one  is  perforated.  The  other 
two  weigh,  respectively,  157.56  grains  and  153.6  grains.  The 
average  of  these  is  155.5  grains,  which  would  make  the  shekel  311 
grains. 

Another  weight,  said  to  have  come  from  Samaria,  was  described 
some  years  ago  by  Dr.  Chaplin.  It  bears  the  inscription  roba 
neseph ,  “the  quarter  of  a  half,”  and  weighs  39.2  grains.  Another 
weight  from  Samaria  is  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Herbert  Clark, 
of  Jerusalem.  It  is  made  in  the  form  of  a  turtle  and  bears  the 
inscription  homesh,  “a  fifth,”  and  weighs  38.58  grains.  Probably 
it  was  intended  as  the  fifth  part  of  a  shekel. 

1  “Mana*’  is  both  the  Babylonian  and  the  Hebrew  term.  In  English  it  has  usually  been 
corrupted  to  “Mina.” 

1  Some  scholars  understand  MENE  to  be  such  a  reference. 


MEASURES,  WEIGHTS,  AND  MONEY 


161 


Another  series  of  inscribed  weights,  of  which  three  examples  are 
known,  bears  the  inscription  beqa.  The  word  comes  from  a  root 
that  means  “cleave”  or  “split.”  This  word  occurs  twice  in  the 
Old  Testament,  in  Gen.  24  :  22  and  Exod.  38  :  26.  In  the  passage 
last  mentioned  it  is  defined  as  half  a  shekel;  (see  Fig.  188). 

A  third  variety  of  weight  bears  the ,  inscription  payim.  The 
first  of  these  to  be  discovered  was  found  by  the  writer  in  the  hands 
of  a  dealer  in  Jerusalem.  On  one  side  it  bore  the  word  payim 
and  on  the  other  lezekaryahu  yaer,  “ belonging  to  Zechariah  son 
of  Jaer.”  This  weight  is  cubic  in  form  (see  Fig.  187)  and  weighs 
117.431  grains.1  Macalister  found  another  of  similar  shape,  which 
bore  only  the  inscription  payim.  It  weighed  114.81  grains.  The 
word  payim  is  very  puzzling.  It  has  been  interpreted  by  Cler¬ 
mont- Ganneau  as  meaning  “two- thirds,”  and  as  designating  two- 
thirds  of  a  shekel.  Possibly  this  is  right.  This  weight  is  men¬ 
tioned  in  1  Sam.  13  :  20,  21,  and  its  discovery  has  explained  a 
Hebrew  phrase  which  has  puzzled  all  translators.  We  now  know 
that  these  verses  should  be  rendered:  “But  all  the  Israelites  went 
down  to  the  Philistines,  to  sharpen  every  man  his  plowshare,  and 
his  axe,  and  his  adze,  and  his  hoe,  and  the  price  was  a  pirn  (or 
payim)  for  the  plowshares,  and  for  the  axes,  and  for  the  three-tined 
forks,  and  for  the  adzes,  and  for  the  setting  of  the  goads.”  The 
name  of  the  weight  here  expresses  the  price,  just  as  shekel,  the  name 
of  another  weight,  does  elsewhere.2  One  bronze  weight  found  at 
Gezer  bore  words  meaning  “belonging  to  the  king,”  but  it  is  not 
clear  to  what  king  it  referred. 

A  glance  at  the  weights  here  described  makes  it  evident  that  the 
standards  of  the  ancient  Hebrews  were  not  exact.  If  these  are  rep¬ 
resentative  weights,  the  shekel  must  have  varied  from  200  to  more 
than  300  grains  Troy.  This  is  what  one  acquainted  with  the  Pales¬ 
tine  of  today  would  expect.  The  peasants  still  use  field-stone  as 
weights,  selecting  one  that  is  approximately  of  the  weight  they 
desire.  Even  among  the  merchants  of  modern  Jerusalem,  where 

1  The  weight  is  now  in  the  library  of  Haverford  College,  near  Philadelphia. 

2  The  words  rendered  “the  price  was  a  pim”  are  translated  in  the  Authorized  Version,  “they 
had  a  file,”  margin,  “a  file  with  mouths”;  in  the  Revised  Version,  “they  had  a  file,”  margin, 
or  “when  the  edges  .  .  .  were  blunt.”  The  Revisers  add,  “The  Hebrew  text  is  obscure.” 
The  Hebrew  word  rendered  “file”  and  “blunt”  comes  from  a  root  that  means  “to  prescribe” 
or  “appoint.”  It  could  easily  mean  the  “established  price,”  but  can  mean  neither  “file”  nor 
“blunt.”  Pim  means  “mouths”  and  is  employed  figuratively  for  “edges,”  but  neither  of  those 
meanings  fits  the  passage.  The  discovery  of  these  weights  has  cleared  up  the  whole  obscurity. 
This  interpretation  was  suggested  by  Pilcher  in  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  Quarterly  State¬ 
ment,  1914,  p.  99. 


162 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


one  would  expect  more  exact  standards  than  among  the  peasantry, 
odd  scraps  of  old  iron  are  used  for  weights.1 

A  large  number  of  uninscribed  weights  of  the  same  general  size 
and  shape  of  those  described2  were  found  at  Gezer.  Whether 
larger  weights  or  multiples  of  a  shekel  were  discovered  is  uncertain. 
A  number  of  stones  might  have  been  used  for  weights,  but  they  were 
not  inscribed  and  may  have  been  used  for  other  purposes.  A  large 
bronze  weight  found  at  Tell  Sandahanna  is  just  sixty  times  the 
weight  of  a  311-grain  shekel,  and  may  be  a  mana.3 

Where  weights  and  measures  differed  so,  the  words  of  Amos 
(8:5),  “making  the  ephah  small  and  the  shekel  great,”  gain  an 
added  significance,  and  we  understand  why  the  wise  man  denounced 
“false  balances”  (Prov.  11  :  1 ;  20:23).  Indeed,  of  the  weights 
found  at  Gezer  so  many  were  under  the  average  standard,  and  so 
many  above  it,  that  the  inference  lay  close  at  hand  that  many  men 
had  one  set  of  weights  by  which  to  purchase  and  another  set  by 
which  to  sell.4 

4.  Money. — Down  to  the  seventh  century  before  Christ  money 
was  not  coined.  Whenever  it  was  employed  as  a  medium  of 
exchange,  it  was  weighed.  In  western  Asia  and  Egypt  our  sources 
show  that  in  the  period  from  1500  to  1300  b.  c.  gold  and  silver  were 
prepared  for  commercial  use  by  being  formed  into  rings.5  These 
rings  were  of  no  standard  weight ;  they  were  weighed  in  the  mass  by 
scales.  Probably  the  rings  were  small,  so  that  the  weight  could,  at 
the  will  of  the  merchant,  be  increased  by  very  slight  amounts.  The 
ring-form  was  probably  selected  because  this  shape  would  present 
no  corners  that  would  rapidly  wear  away.  This  type  of  commer¬ 
cial  ring  can  be  traced  in  the  inscriptions  of  Ashurnasirpal  II  of 
Assyria,6  884-860  b.  c.  It  was  used,  then,  in  Egypt,  Syria,  Phoe¬ 
nicia,  by  the  Hittites,  the  Aramaeans,  and  the  Assyrians. 

(1)  Who  Invented  Coinage? — The  oldest  coins  yet  found  were 
made  by  the  Lydians,  and  on  this  account  it  is  usually  said  that  the 
Lydians  were  the  first  to  coin  money.  The  date  of  these  coins  is 
uncertain.  They  bear  the  name  of  no  king,  but  are  usually  assigned 
to  the  seventh  century  b.  c.  Mr.  Head,  of  the  British  Museum, 

1  See  Macalister,  Excavation  of  Gezer,  II,  279. 

2  See  Macalister,  ibid.,  pp.  278-293. 

3  See  Bliss  and  Macalister,  Excavations  in  Palestine,  1898-1900,  p.  61. 

4  See  Macalister,  Excavation  of  Gezer,  II,  291. 

6  See  Breasted,  Ancient  Records,  Egypt,  II,  §§  436,  489,  490,  518,  and  History  of  Egypt,  2d  ed., 
pp.  277,  307. 

6  See  Schrader’s  Keilinschriftliche  Bibliothek,  I,  105  (cl.  Ill,  62). 


MEASURES,  WEIGHTS,  AND  MONEY 


163 


dated  them  tentatively  at  700  b.  c.  They  probably  were  made 
under  the  Lydian  dynasty  founded  by  Gyges  in  697  b.  c.,  the  last 
king  of  wThich,  the  famous  Croesus,  was  overthrown  by  Cyrus  the 
Great,  in  546  b.  c.  It  is  improbable  that  these  coins  were  invented 
earlier  than  the  reign  of  Gyges,  and  they  may  not  have  been  put 
into  circulation  until  he  had  been  some  years  on  the  throne.  It  is 
recognized  that  the  weight  of  these  coins  conforms  to  a  Babylonian 
standard. 

There  seems  to  be  evidence  that  coined  money  was  employed  by 
the  Assyrians  in  the  reign  of  Esarhaddon.  None  of  the  coins  have 
been  found,  but  a  series  of  loans  and  payments,  dated  in  the  years 
676-671  b.  c.,  designate  the  amounts  of  money  in  “shekels  of  silver- 
heads  of  Ishtar.”1  As  has  been  noted  by  Menant  and  Johns,  this 
can  hardly  mean  anything  else  than  silver  made  into  coins  of  the 
value  of  a  shekel  and  stamped  with  the  head  of  Ishtar.  As  Gyges 
was  a  contemporary  of  Esarhaddon,  it  seems  probable  that  Lydia 
borrowed  the  idea  of  coinage  from  the  Mesopotamian  Valley. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  the  coinage  of  money  was  a  great  step  for¬ 
ward.  To  have  the  value  of  a  piece  of  metal  determined  before¬ 
hand  and  guaranteed  by  an  official  stamp  greatly  facilitated  the 
transaction  of  business.  It  eliminated  the  delays  incident  to 
weighing  the  metal,  and  the  disputes  that  were  sure  to  ensue  as  to 
the  correctness  of  the  weights  which  were  put  into  the  balances. 

(2)  Darics. — The  invention  of  coined  money  first  affected  Pales¬ 
tine  during  the  Persian  period.  Darius  I  of  Persia,  521-486  b.  c., 
organized  the  coinage  of  that  realm.  The  gold  coins  issued  by  him 
were  of  the  weight  of  a  Babylonian  shekel.  They  weighed  from 
125  to  130  grains  Troy.  One  in  the  British  Museum  wTeighs  129 
grains.  They  bore  on  the  face  a  picture  of  Darius  with  a  bow  to  the 
left;  (see  Fig.  189).  Because  of  this  picture  they  were  called 
“darics,”  just  as  the  French  20-franc  piece  is  called  a  “napoleon.” 
The  daric  is  mentioned  in  several  Biblical  books  that  were  written 
after  the  beginning  of  the  Persian  period.  (See  1  Chron.  29  :  7 ; 
Ezra  2:69;  8:27;  Neh.  7  :  70-72.)  It  is  wrongly  translated 
“dram”  in  the  Authorized  Version. 

After  the  Persian  period  the  coinage  of  all  the  nations  to  whom 
the  Jews  became  subject  circulated  in  turn  in  Palestine.  Foreign 
coins  also  found  their  way  into  the  country.  Many  of  these  ulti- 

1  See  C.  H.  W.  Johns,  Assyrian  Deeds  and  Documents,  I,  Nos.  38,  39,  40,  41,  44,  45,  46,  50,  and 
108;  cf.  also  III,  8. 


164 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


mately  were  lost  and  buried  in  the  soil,  so  that  many,  many  coins 
have  been  brought  to  light  by  archaeological  research.  We  have 
space  here  to  mention  only  those  that  are  of  the  greatest  interest  to 
students  of  the  Bible. 

Palestine  passed  under  the  sway  of  Alexander  the  Great  in  332 
b.  c.,  and  after  his  death  in  323  it  was  attached  to  the  territory  of 
Ptolemy  Lagi  of  Egypt  and  his  successors.  In  199  b.  c.  Antiochus 
III  wrested  it  from  the  Ptolemies  and  the  Jews  passed  under  the 
sway  of  the  Syrians.  During  this  time  the  coins  of  these  rulers  cir¬ 
culated  in  the  country  and  are  still  frequently  dug  up  there,  although 
they  are  not  mentioned  in  the  Bible.  Samples  of  these  coins  are 
shown  in  Figs.  190,  195.  Not  until  the  Jews  had  gained  their  inde¬ 
pendence  under  Simon  the  Maccabee,  in  the  year  143  b.  c.,  did  they 
issue  any  coinage  of  their  own.  Indeed,  it  now  seems  clear  that  no 
coins  were  issued  by  Simon  until  after  the  year  139-138  b.  c.,  when 
the  Syrian  king  by  an  especial  grant  accorded  him  that  liberty. 
The  coins  then  issued  appear  to  have  been  made  of  bronze  only.1 
A  silver  coinage  formerly  attributed  to  Simon  the  Maccabee  is 
now  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  time  of  the  Jewish  revolt  of  66-70 
A.  D. 

(3)  Maccabcean  Coins. — The  coins  of  Simon  consist  of  bronze  half¬ 
shekels  and  quarter-shekels  all  dated  in  the  year  four.  Antiochus 
VII  of  Syria  apparently  prevented  the  issue  of  others  during  the 
reign  of  Simon.  His  coins  bear  on  their  face  the  picture  of  a  cit¬ 
ron  between  two  bundles  of  twigs.  Around  the  border  runs  the 
inscription  in  old  Hebrew  characters,  “year  four;  one-half.”  On 
the  other  side  is  a  palm-tree  with  two  bunches  of  fruit  between 
twTo  baskets  filled  with  fruits,  and  around  the  border  runs  the  in¬ 
scription,  “belonging  to  the  redemption  of  Zion;”  (see  Fig.  192). 
The  weights  of  these  coins  vary  from  232.6  to  237  grains.  The 
lighter  ones  are  considerably  worn. 

The  quarter-shekels  have  on  one  side  two  bundles  of  twigs,  around 
which  run  the  words,  “year  four;  one-fourth.”  On  the  other  side  is 
pictured  a  citron  with  the  stalk  upward,  around  which  runs  the 
inscription,  “belonging  to  the  redemption  of  Zion.”  The  weights 
of  the  known  coins  of  this  denomination  vary  from  113.7  to  192.3 
grains.  The  form  of  the  letters  on  these  coins  shows  that  they  are 
older  than  other  Jewish  coins. 

(4)  Asmoncean  Coins. — There  are  many  coins  from  the  reign  of 

1  See  Hill,  Catalogue  of  the  Greek  Coins  of  Palestine ,  London,  1914,  p.  xciii,  ff. 


MEASURES,  WEIGHTS,  AND  MONEY 


165 


John  Hyrcanus,  the  son  and  successor  of  Simon,  but  they  are  all  of 
copper;  (see  Fig.  193).  They  bear  on  their  face  the  inscription: 
“Johanan,  the  high  priest  and  the  congregation  of  the  Jews”;  on 
the  reverse  is  a  poppy  head  between  two  cornucopias.  Similar 
coins  were  issued  by  the  other  Asmonaean  princes. 

(5)  Herodian  Coins. — As  Herod  the  Great  was  a  vassal  of  Rome, 
he  was  permitted  to  issue  copper  coins  only.  These  exist  in  consid¬ 
erable  variety.  Figure  198  shows  one,  the  face  of  which  is  stamped 
with  the  image  of  a  vessel  with  a  bell-shaped  cover,  above  which 
are  two  palm-branches;  on  the  reverse  the  words  meaning  “of 
King  Herod”  run  around  the  edge,  while  a  tripod  occupies  the 
center.  At  the  left  of  the  tripod  is  an  abbreviation  for  “year  3”; 
at  the  right  is  a  monogram.  Several  other  patterns  are  known. 

Coins  of  Archaelaus,  Antipas,  Herod  Philip  (Matt.  14  :  3;  Mark 
6  :  17;  Luke  3  :  19),  and  of  Herod  Agrippa  I  are  known.  One  is 
shown  in  Fig.  200. 

(6)  Roman  Coins. — The  most  common  silver  Roman  coin  was 
the  denarius,  rendered  in  the  Authorized  Version  “penny”  and  in 
the  Revised  Version  “shilling.”  Its  weight  varied  at  different 
times.  In  the  time  of  Christ  it  weighed  about  61.3  grains  Troy, 
and  was  worth  16§  cents  of  American  money.  As  the  ministry 
of  Christ  occurred  in  the  reign  of  Tiberius,  the  tribute  money  shown 
to  Christ  (Matt.  22  :  19;  Mark  12  :  15-17)  was  probably  a  denarius 
of  Tiberius,  such  as  is  shown  in  Fig.  196.  ‘The  denarius  was  so 
named  because  it  originally  was  equivalent  to  ten  asses  or  small 
copper  coins,  but  the  as  was  afterward  reduced  to  yg-  of  the  de¬ 
narius.  The  as  is  mentioned  in  Matt.  10  :  29;  Luke  12  :  6,  where 
A.  V.  renders  it  “farthing”  and  R.  V.  “penny.”  It  was  worth 
about  a  cent.  The  Roman  coin  quadrans,  or  the  fourth  part  of  an 
as,  worth  about  J  of  a  cent,  is  mentioned  in  Matt.  5  :  26;  Mark 
12  :  42.  It  is  translated  “farthing”;  (see  Fig.  199). 

(7)  The  Widow's  Mite. — Another  coin,  translated  “mite,”  is  in 
Greek  lepton,  “the  small  one”  or  the  “bit.”  It  was  two  of  these 
that  the  widow  cast  into  the  treasury,  Mark  12  : 42, 1  where  it  is 
said  that  two  of  them  equaled  a  quadrans.  The  “mite”  was,  then, 
of  the  value  of  f  of  a  cent.  It  was  doubtless  the  smallest  coin  in 
circulation,  but  it  has  not  yet  been  identified  with  certainty  with 
any  coin  that  archaeology  has  discovered. 

(8)  The  Piece  of  Silver. — In  Luke  15  :  8  the  Greek  drachma  is 


1  Cf.  Luke  21:2. 


166 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


mentioned.  It  is  translated  “piece  of  silver.”  The  drachma  corre¬ 
sponded  roughly  in  value  to  the  denarius.  Drachmas  had  been 
issued  by  many  different  cities  and  many  different  kings,  and  were 
still  in  circulation  in  Palestine  in  the  time  of  Christ.  One  still  sees 
in  that  country  today  coins  of  the  first  Napoleon,  and  of  many  other 
sovereigns  who  have  been  long  dead,  passing  from  hand  to  hand  as 
media  of  value;  (see  Fig.  194). 

(9)  Coinage  of  the  Revolt  of  66-70  A.  D. — Two  silver  coins,  a 
shekel  and  a  half-shekel  (see  Fig.  201),  were  formerly  attributed  to 
Simon  the  Maccabee.  The  shekels  weigh  212.3  to  217.9  grains  and 
bear  on  their  face  above  a  cup  or  chalice  the  legend  “shekel  of  Israel” 
and  a  numeral.  The  numeral  stands  for  the  first  year.  Examples 
are  known  which  carry  the  enumeration  up  to  the  year  “five.”  On 
the  reverse  a  triple  lily  is  pictured,  and  in  similar  Hebrew  characters 
the  words  “Jerusalem,  the  holy”  are  inscribed.  The  half-shekel  is 
smaller  and  has  the  same  markings  except  that  the  legend  on  its 
face  is  simply  “half-shekel.”  On  the  coins  issued  after  the  first 
year  a  Hebrew  sh  precedes  the  number  of  the  year.  The  sh  is  an 
abbreviation  of  the  Hebrew  word  shana,  year.  For  various  reasons 
the  consensus  of  expert  opinion  now  is  that  these  coins  were  issued 
during  the  Jewish  war  of  66-70  a.  d.,  which,  according  to  Jewish 
reckoning,  extended  into  the  fifth  year. 

Coins  of  the  Roman  Emperors,  Augustus  and  Claudius,  are 
shown  in  Figs.  195,  197. 


CHAPTER  XI 


HIGH  PLACES  AND  TEMPLES1 

A  Sanctuary  of  the  Pre-Semitic  Cave-dwellers.  A  Rock-altar  at  Megiddo. 
A  Rock- altar  at  Jerusalem.  High  Place  at  Tell  Es-Safi.  High  Place  at 
Gezer:  Choice  of  site.  Child-sacrifice.  Corrupt  worship.  At  Taanach:  Pillars. 
An  altar  of  incense.  High  Places  at  Petra.  A  Supposed  Philistine  Temple.  At 
Megiddo:  A  Hebrew  temple.  A  palace  chapel.  Another  chapel.  The  Temple 
to  Augustus  at  Samaria. 

1.  A  Sanctuary  of  the  Pre-Semitic  Cave-dwellers. — The  oldest 
sanctuary  which  we  can  trace  in  Palestine  appears  to  have  been  one 
of  the  caves  at  Gezer.  This  cave  was  32  feet  long,  20  feet  broad, 
and  7  feet  11  inches  at  its  maximum  height.  There  wTere  two  en¬ 
trances  :  one  on  the  east,  a  tall,  narrow  doorway,  was  approached  by 
a  passage  sloping  downward;  the  other,  on  the  west,  was  a  low,  nar¬ 
row  passage,  just  wide  enough  to  admit  a  person.  At  the  northern 
end  there  was  a  projection  in  the  form  of  an  apse,  the  floor  of  which 
was  about  2  feet  higher  than  that  of  the  rest  of  the  cave.  In  the 
roof  of  this  apse  there  was  an  opening,  about  1  foot  wide  at  the  bot¬ 
tom,  leading  to  the  upper  air.  The  rock  of  the  roof  here  was  3  feet 
5|  inches  thick.  This  opening  was  2  feet  8  inches  in  diameter  at 
the  top,  and  a  channel  4  feet  6  inches  long  cut  in  the  surface  of  the 
rock  was  connected  with  it.  On  the  surface  of  the  rock  above  the 
cave  and  about  this  channel  there  were  a  number  of  “cup-marks” 
similar  to  those  found  near  ancient  sacred  places.  Some  of  these 
were,  perhaps,  intended  for  places  to  set  jars,  but  some  of  them  were 
connected  with  the  channel  which  emptied  into  the  opening  in  the 
roof  of  the  cave2;  (see  Fig.  202). 

The  suggestion  which  the  excavator,  Prof.  Macalister,  makes  is 
that  this  was  a  sanctuary  of  the  cave-dwellers,  that  they  killed 
their  victims  on  the  surface  of  the  rock  above,  and  let  the  blood 
run  through  the  channel  and  the  opening  into  the  cave  underneath, 
where  their  deity  was  supposed  to  dwell.  They  lived  in  caves  them¬ 
selves,  and  it  was  natural  for  them  to  think  their  deity  did  the  same. 

1  The  temples  of  Solomon,  Zerubbabel,  and  Herod  are  treated  in  Chapter  XIII,  on  Jerusalem. 

2  See  Macalister,  T he  Excavation  of  Gezer,  I,  102;  II,  378.  £E. 


167 


168 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


This  suggestion  received  some  confirmation  from  the  fact  that  on 
the  floor  of  the  apse  under  this  opening  there  were  found,  upon 
removing  a  layer  of  earth,  a  number  of  pig  bones.  The  presence 
of  these  might  be  accounted  for  on  the  supposition  that  they  were 
offered  in  sacrifice  by  the  cave-dwellers  to  their  deity.  Swine  were 
unclean  to  all  Semites,  and,  no  doubt,  the  later  Semitic  inhabitants 
would  have  thrown  the  bones  away,  if  they  had  ever  cleaned  out 
the  cave  sufficiently  to  discover  them. 

2.  A  Rock-altar  at  Megiddo. — Another  rock-altar  of  high  an¬ 
tiquity  was  discovered  on  the  slope  of  the  mound  of  Tell  el-Mutesel- 
lim,  the  ancient  Megiddo.1  It  was  situated  on  the  slope  of  the  tell, 
about  half-way  down.  Its  surface  was  covered  with  “cup-marks,” 
like  those  on  the  altar  at  Gezer,  and  an  opening  about  2 \  feet  wide 
at  the  top  and  l|  feet  wide  at  the  bottom  made  it  possible  for  blood 
to  trickle  down  through  3  feet  of  rock  into  a  cave  below.  This 
cave  contained  several  rooms,  the  largest  of  which  was  about 
18  feet  6  inches  long,  7  feet  8  inches  wide,  and  8  feet  6  inches  high. 
In  the  most  northerly  of  the  rooms  were  found  various  implements 
of  black  flint,  potsherds,  coals  of  a  wood-fire,  the  bones  of  sheep  and 
goats,  olive-stones,  and  ashes.  In  the  midst  of  the  central  room 
there  lay  a  heap  of  human  bones,  the  skulls  of  which  were  badly 
destroyed.  These  human  bones  show  that  after  the  cave  had  been 
used  as  a  sanctuary  it  was  employed  as  a  sepulcher.  The  same 
thing  happened  at  Gezer  and  elsewhere;  (see  Fig.  205). 

3.  A  Rock-altar  at  Jerusalem. — We  are  told  in  Gen.  22  :  2 
that  Abraham  went  to  the  land  of  Moriah  to  offer  up  Isaac,  and  in 
2  Chron.  3  :  l,ff.that  Solomon  built  the  temple  on  Mount  Moriah 
on  the  threshing  floor  which  David  acquired  from  Oman  (Arau- 
nah)  the  Jebusite.  Just  to  the  east  of  the  site  of  Solomon’s 
temple  in  the  open  court  where  the  altar  of  burnt-offering  stood, 
there  was  a  rock  surface  similar  to  the  two  rock-altars  described 
above.  It  is  still  visible  in  Jerusalem  and  is  now  enclosed  in  the 
Mosque  of  Omar.  The  Mohammedans  regard  it  as  a  sacred  rock. 
One  can  still  trace  on  it  the  channels  which  conducted  the  blood  to 
an  opening  which  in  turn  conducted  it  to  a  cave  underneath.  This 
cave  is  still  regarded  by  the  Mohammedans  as  sacred.  There  is 
little  doubt  that  the  sacrificial  victims  offered  in  the  temples  of 
Solomon  and  Herod  were  slain  on  this  stone,  and  that  that  part 
of  the  blood  not  used  in  sprinkling  drained  into  the  cave  underneath. 

1  See  Schumacher,  Tell  el-Mutesellim,  156,  ff. 


HIGH  PLACES  AND  TEMPLES 


169 


This  rock-altar  is  on  the  hill  to  which  we  are  told  Abraham  came 
for  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac1;  (see  Fig.  208). 

4.  High  Place  of  Tell  es-Safi. — In  the  Old  Testament  the  “high 
place”  is  frequently  mentioned  as  a  place  of  worship.  (See  1  Sam. 
9  :  12,  f. ;  1  Kings  3  :  2;  2  Kings  23  :  5,  8,  etc.)  It  follows  from  2 
Kings  23  :  14  that  these  high  places  contained  “pillars”  and  “ashe- 
rim.”  The  pillars  were  made  of  stone,  and  the  asherim  of  wood. 

Recent  exploration  has  brought  to  light  a  number  of  these  high 
places,  and  the  revelations  made  by  these  discoveries  greatly  il¬ 
luminate  the  Old  Testament  narrative.  The  first  of  these  was  dis¬ 
covered  by  Bliss  and  Macalister  at  Tell  es-Safi.2  The  high  place 
was  enclosed  by  walls,  but,  as  the  upper  courses  of  these  had  been 
destroyed,  the  original  height  of  the  walls  could  not  be  determined. 
Within  the  largest  enclosure  stood  three  monoliths  or  “pillars.” 
These  rested  on  bases  of  stone.  The  pillars  themselves  were,  re¬ 
spectively,  5  feet  10  inches,  6  feet  5  inches,  and  7  feet  1  inch  high. 
One  of  them  was  pointed,  and  one  of  them  almost  flat  on  the  top. 
No  tool-mark  was  discernible  on  any  of  them.  All  showed  signs 
of  having  been  rubbed.  The  fat  and  the  blood  of  sacrifices  were 
smeared  over  such  stones,  and  the  rubbing  was  probably  produced 
by  this.  The  walls  enclosing  these  pillars  formed  an  approximate 
square  30  feet  from  east  to  west  and  32  feet  from  north  to  south. 
On  the  north  a  fairly  large  room  was  walled  in,  as  shown  in  Fig.  212, 
and  on  the  south  three  smaller  rooms.  In  the  wall  to  the  north  of 
the  three  pillars  was  a  semicircular  apse.  Facing  this  apse  was  a 
low  semicircle  of  stones  3  feet  7  inches  in  diameter,  which  is  situated 
much  nearer  the  “pillars.”  The  purpose  of  this  semicircle  is  un¬ 
known.  In  the  east  wall  of  the  court  of  the  high  place  there  was  a 
“skewed”  opening,  or  an  opening  which  ran  diagonally  through  the 
wall.  The  purpose  of  this  is  obscure.  It  has  been  suggested  by 
Prof.  Macalister  that  it  was  made  to  permit  the  rising  sun  to  shine 
on  a  certain  spot  of  the  interior  on  a  certain  day  of  the  year,  but  of 
this  there  is  no  proof. 

5.  High  Place  of  Gezer. — The  foundations  of  this  high  place 
were  in  the  second  stratum  below  that  which  contained  Israelitish 
pottery.  It  was  one. of  the  high  places  of  the  Canaanites,  therefore, 
or  of  one  of  the  tribes  that  were  in  Palestine  before  the  coming  of 

1  In  Gen.  22  :  9  Abraham,  we  are  told,  built  the  altar.  He  did  not,  therefore,  intend  to  use  the 
rock-altar.  The  analogy  of  this  altar  with  the  other  two  is  not  quite  complete.  It  appears  to 
have  no  cup-marks  on  its  surface. 

1  See  Bliss  and  Macalister,  Excavations  in  Palestine,  1898-1900,  p.  31,  0. 


170 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Israel.  This  is  the  most  interesting  of  the  high  places  which 
have  been  discovered  in  Palestine.1  It  contained  ten  monoliths 
or  upright  “pillars,”  the  tallest  of  which  was  10  feet  9  inches  in 
height,  and  the  shortest  5  feet  5  inches.  These  pillars  ran  in  a 
curved  line  the  general  direction  of  which  was  from  north  to 
south.  This  was  in  striking  contrast  to  the  high  place  of  Tell 
es-Safi,  where  the  line  of  pillars  ran  from  east  to  west.  The  center 
of  the  curved  line  of  the  pillars  of  Gezer  was  toward  the  east.  All 
of  these  pillars  except  one  were  of  the  kind  of  stone  abundant 
about  Gezer.  They  had  been  found  near  by.  None  of  them  bore 
the  mark  of  a  tool.  They  had  not  been  shaped  by  working.  One 
of  them  (the  one  that  was  the  sacred  stone,  as  the  smooth  spots  on 
it  showed)  was  a  different  kind  of  stone — the  kind  found  at  Jeru¬ 
salem  and  elsewhere,  but  not  near  Gezer.  There  were  on  it  traces 
of  an  indentation,  as  though  a  rope  for  dragging  it  might  have 
been  fitted  around  it;  (Fig.  206).  As  Mesha,  King  of  Moab,  tells 
us  twice  in  his  inscription  that  he  dragged  altar-hearths  of  other 
deities  away  from  their  original  locations  into  the  presence  of  his 
god  Chemosh,2  it  seems  likely  that  this  stone  was  dragged  to  Gezer 
from  some  other  sanctuary — possibly  from  Jerusalem.  Perhaps  it 
was  its  capture  that  first  suggested  to  the  inhabitants  of  Gezer  the 
establishment  of  this  high  place.  The  other  stones  of  the  series 
were  erected  to  keep  this  one  company  and  to  do  it  honor.  These 
were  probably  not  all  set  up  at  once.  They  were  added  from  time 
to  time  by  different  rulers  of  Gezer,  and  we  have  no  means  of  know¬ 
ing  when  the  latest  of  the  pillars  was  erected;  (see  Fig.  204). 

(1)  Choice  of  Site. — Judging  from  the  scarabs  found  about  the 
foundations  of  the  high  place,  its  beginnings  date  from  2000  b.  c.  or 
earlier,  and  it  continued  in  use  down  to  the  Babylonian  Exile. 
Curiously  enough,  this  high  place  is  not  situated  on  the  highest  part 
of  the  hill.  The  land. is  higher  both  to  the  east  and  to  the  west  of  it. 
It  is  situated  in  a  sort  of  saddle  to  the  east  of  the  middle  of  the 
mound.  Why  was  this  spot  chosen  for  it?  Two  considerations, 
perhaps,  led  to  the  choice  of  the  site.  A  great  ramifying  cave  on  a 
higher  part  of  the  hill  had  already  been  appropriated  by  Semites  as  a 
sepulcher,  and  was,  therefore,  unclean.  The  cave  which  the  earlier 
inhabitants  had  used  as  a  crematorium  was  for  the  same  reason  un¬ 
acceptable.  Why  the  high  place  was  not  built  near  the  cave  that 

1  See  Macalister,  The- Excavation  of  Gezer ,  I,  51,  105-107;  II,  381-404. 

2  See  Part  II,  p.  364. 


HIGH  PLACES  AND  TEMPLES 


171 


the  cave-dwellers  had  used  as  a  temple,  we  cannot  now  conjecture. 
Perhaps  in  some  wTay  the  memory  that  that  had  been  a  sacred 
spot  had  faded  from  men’s  minds.  Macalister  thinks  that  the 
choice  of  the  site  was  determined  by  the  presence  at  this  point  of  the 
two  caves  shown  in  Fig.  203.  These  caves  had  been  dwellings  of 
cave-men  in  the  pre-Semitic  time.  They  were  now  connected  by  a 
narrow,  crooked  passage,  so  that  they  could  be  utilized  for  the  giving 
of  oracles.  Macalister  conjectures  that  a  priest  or  priestess  would  go 
into  one,  while  the  devotee  who  wished  to  inquire  of  the  god  was  sent 
into  the  other,  and  that  the  inquirer  would  hear  his  oracle  through 
this  passage.  This  theory  is  plausible,  though  incapable  of  full  proof. 

Just  back  of  one  of  the  pillars  a  square  stone  was  found  with  a 
deep  hole  cut  in  its  upper  side;  (see  Fig.  209).  Several  theories 
as  to  the  use  of  this  have  been  put  forward;  the  most  probable 
one  is  that  it  was  a  laver. 

The  area  of  the  high  place  seems  to  have  been  approximately 
150  feet  from  north  to  south  and  120  feet  from  east  to  west.  Some 
few  walls  were  found  of  the  same  date  as  the  high  place,  but  it  was 
impossible  to  tell  their  purpose.  There  seem  to  have  been  no 
buildings  that  could  be  regarded  as  a  part  of  the  sanctuary.  It 
seems  to  have  been  entirely  open  to  the  air.  Two  circular  struc¬ 
tures,  one  at  the  north  and  the  other  to  the  south  of  the  sacred 
stones,  were  found.  The  one  at  the  south  was  badly  ruined;  that 
to  the  north  was  in  a  good  state  of  preservation.  This  structure  had 
a  pavement  of  stones  on  a  level  with  the  bottom  of  the  sacred  pillars. 
It  was  entirely  surrounded  by  a  wall  2  feet  thick  at  the  bottom  and 
1  foot  6  inches  thick  at  the  top  and  6  feet  high.  There  was  no 
doorway.  The  wall  leaned  outward.  The  diameter  of  the  struc¬ 
ture  was  13  feet  8  inches  at  the  bottom  and  16  feet  6  inches  at  the 
top;  (see  Fig.  207).  On  the  pavement  in  this  enclosure  were  the 
fragments  of  many  clay  bowls,  of  a  type  found  in  Cyprus,  but 
common  at  Gezer  from  1400-800  b.  c.,  and  among  these  fragments 
a  brazen  serpent,  evidently  the  model  of  a  cobra.  This  discovery 
suggests  the  possibility  that  the  structure  may  have  been  a  pen  in 
which  sacred  serpents  were  kept.  The  practice  of  venerating  ser¬ 
pents  as  sacred  is  found  in  many  parts  of  the  world.1  This  brazen 
serpent  reminds  one  of  Nehushtan,  the  brazen  serpent  worshiped  by 
the  Judaeans  until  it  was  destroyed  by  King  Hezekiah.  (See  2 
Kings  18  : 4,  and  Fig.  219a.) 

1  See  C.  H.  Toy,  Introduction  to  the  History  of  Religions,  Boston,  1913,  §§  250,  257. 


172 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


(2)  Child-sacrifice. — The  whole  area  of  the  high  place  was  found 
to  be  a  cemetery  of  new-born  infants.  These  were  in  all  probability 
first-born  children  who  had  been  sacrificed  to  the  deity  of  the  high 
place.  Two  of  them  displayed  marks  of  fire,  but  most  of  them  had 
been  simply  enclosed  in  large  jars.  The  body  was  usually  put  in 
head  first.  Two  or  three  smaller  vessels  were  put  in  with  them. 
These  generally  included  a  bowl  and  a  jug.  They  were  usually  in¬ 
side  the  jar  between  the  body  and  the  jar’s  mouth;  sometimes  they 
were  outside  near  the  mouth  of  the  jar.  That  these  were  sacrifices 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  they  were  children.  It  was  not,  therefore, 
a  general  place  of  burial.  Indeed,  had  these  children  not  been 
sacrificial,  they  could  not  have  been  buried  in  the  sanctuary,  as 
dead  bodies  were  unclean. 

The  Semites  generally  believed  that  the  first-born  were  sacred  to 
deity  and  must  be  sacrificed  to  it.  This  sort  of  human  sacrifice 
persisted  for  a  long  time  among  the  Phoenicians.  It  was  said  that 
God  called  Abraham  to  sacrifice  Isaac,  and  that  he  then  permitted 
him  to  offer  a  ram  instead  (Gen.  22).  The  law  provided  for  the 
redemption  of  Hebrew  first-born  by  the  sacrifice  of  a  lamb  (Exod. 
34  :  20),  but  in  the  time  of  King  Manasseh  the  old  custom  was 
revived  and  men  “made  their  children  pass  through  the  fire.” 
(See  2  Kings  21  :  6;  23  :  10;  Jer.  7  :  31;  32  :  35.)  The  gruesome 
discoveries  of  this  high  place  have  made  very  real  these  horrible 
practices  and  the  inhuman  fate  from  which  Isaac  and  other  Hebrew 
children  were  delivered. 

With  the  exception  of  a  little  unhewn  stone  about  18  inches 
square,  found  in  one  of  the  caves  connected  with  the  high  place,  and 
which  might  possibly  have  served  as  an  altar,  no  altar  was  found. 
Possibly  none  was  needed  in  the  rites  practised  there,  but  it  is  more 
likely  that  the  altar  was  simply  a  mound  of  earth  such  as  is  pre¬ 
scribed  in  Exod.  20 :  24 — a  mound  which  could  not  be  distinguished, 
in  excavating,  from  the  common  earth. 

(3)  Corrupt  Worship. — Of  the  nature  of  some  of  the  services  that 
went  on  in  this  high  place  in  the  name  of  Ashtoreth  eloquent  testi¬ 
mony  was  borne  by  unnumbered  Ashtoreth-plaques  that  had  been 
presented  as  votive  offerings  by  the  worshipers.  These  varied  in 
form  and  in  artistic  merit,  but  were  all  designed  to  foster  in  the 
worshiper  that  type  of  debasing  service  described  in  Isa.  57  : 3,  ff., 
as  Fig.  214  shows.  Symbols  of  this  nature  were  abundant  during 
all  the  period  while  the  high  place  was  in  use.  No  one  who  was 


HIGH  PLACES  AND  TEMPLES 


173 


not,  like  the  writer,  at  Gezer  during  the  excavation,  can  realize  how 
demoralizing  the  Whole  atmosphere  of  such  worship  must  have 
been.  Archaeology  has  here  revealed  to  us  in  a  most  vivid  way  the 
tremendous  power  of  those  corrupting  religious  influences  which  the 
Hebrew  prophets  so  vigorously  denounced.  These  practices  were 
deeply  rooted  in  the  customs  of  the  Canaanites;  they  were  sanctified 
by  a  supposed  divine  sanction  of  immemorial  antiquity,  and  they 
made  an  all-powerful  appeal  to  the  animal  instincts  in  human 
nature.  We  can  realize  now  as  never  before  the  social  and  religious 
task  which  confronted  the  prophets.  That  Israel  was  by  prophetic 
teaching  purged  of  this  cult  is  due  to  the  power  of  God! 

6.  At  Taanach. 

(1)  Pillars. — Sellin1  discovered  two  monoliths  which  he  believed 
to  be  the  pillars  of  a  high  place.  These  stones  had,  however, 
been  hewn,  which  does  not  accord  with  the  general  Semitic  re¬ 
quirement  that  no  tool  should  be  lifted  up  upon  such  stones; 
(see  Fig.  211).  However,  the  indentation  in  one  of  the  sacred 
stones  of  Gezer,  apparently  made  to  keep  a  rope  from  slipping, 
shows  that  exceptions  to  the  rule  against  cutting  a  sacred  stone 
were  allowed.  The  two  pillars  at  Taanach  were  situated  over  a 
cave  and  figures  of  Ashtoreth  were  found  in  connection  with  them, 
so  that  they  probably  constituted  another  high  place.  The  stratum 
in  which  this  was  found  proves  that  it  belongs  to  the  same  period 
as  the  high  place  at  Gezer.  In  connection  with  this  high  place  an 
interesting  libation  bowl  was  found  which  is  shown  in  Fig.  213. 

(2)  An  Altar  of  Incense. — In  another  part  of  the  mound  at 
Taanach  Sellin  discovered  a  remarkable  incense  altar  of  terra-cotta, 
3  feet  in  height,  and  18  inches  in  diameter  at  the  base,  adorned 
with  protruding  animal  heads,  which  remind  one  of  shortened 
gargoyles.  On  one  side  of  it  was  the  figure  of  a  palm-tree,  with 
two  ibexes  descending  a  mountain.  Part  of  an  Ashtoreth  figure 
and  fragments  of  another  altar  were  found  near.  Sellin  thought 
that  the  building  that  contained  these  was  a  private  house,  and, 
if  so,  we  have  in  these  objects  some  of  the  implements  of  private 
worship  employed  by  Israelites;  (see  Fig.  210). 

7.  High  Places  at  Petra. — One  of  the  most  interesting  high  places 
is  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock  at  Petra.  Petra  may  possibly  be  the 
Sela  of  2  Kings  14  :  7,  since  Sela  means  “crag”  or  “rock”  in 
Hebrew,  and  Petra  has  the  same  meaning  in  Greek.  The  iden- 

1  Tell  Taanek,  p.  68,  ff. 


174 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


tity  of  Petra  with  Sela  is  not,  however,  certain.  Petra  lies  in 
the  southeastern  part  of  ancient  Edom,  and  was,  before  the  end  of 
the  fourth  century  b.  c.,  occupied  by  the  Nabathaeans,  a  Semitic 
tribe.  These  Nabathaeans  established  a  kingdom  which  continued 
until  106  a.  d.  One  of  its  kings,  Haretat  IV,  is  called  Aretas  in 
2  Cor.  11 :32d  When  the  Roman  Emperor  Trajan  overthrew  this 
kingdom  he  organized  its  territory  into  the  Province  of  Arabia,  and 
the  beautiful  buildings,  the  remains  of  which  make  Petra  such  an 
interesting  ruin  today,  date  mostly  from  the  Roman  period  of  its 
history.  During  the  Nabathaean  period  of  Petra  they  constructed 
three  high  places,  which  are  high  places  indeed,  since  they  are 
perched  on  ledges  of  rock  above  the  ancient  town.  The  largest  of 
these  high  places  is  still  in  an  excellent  state  of  preservation.  It 
is  a  little  to  the  north  of  the  citadel  on  a  ledge  which  rises  about 
700  feet  above  the  town.  The  ledge  is  520  feet  long  by  90  feet 
wide ;  it  runs  nearly  north  and  south  with  a  slight  inclination  to  the 
east.2  The  principal  features  of  this  ancient  place  of  worship  are  an 
altar  on  the  west  side  of  the  ledge,  a  platform  immediately  south  of 
this,  a  large  sunken  area  directly  in  front  of  the  altar,  and  a  little  to 
the  south  of  this  area  a  vat  or  laver. 

This  high  place  is  approached  by  a  flight  of  steps  cut  in  the  solid 
rock;  (see  Fig.  215).  The  main  area,  which  corresponds  to  the 
enclosure  of  the  high  place  at  Tell  es-Safi,  is  47  feet  4  inches  long, 
24  feet  4  inches  wide,  and  15  to  18  inches  deep,  though  this  depth  is 
not  uniform.  In  some  parts  it  falls  to  10  inches.  About  midway 
of  the  length  of  this  area  and  5  feet  from  its  west  side,  there  is  a 
rock  platform  5  feet  in  length,  2  feet  7i  inches  wide,  and  4  inches 
high.  It  has  been  suggested  that  this  platform  was  intended  for 
the  offerer  of  a  victim  to  stand  upon,  in  order  that  he  might  be 
distinguished  from  other  worshipers  who  were  crowding  the  area. 
Another  possible  view  is  that  the  sacred  “pillars”  stood  upon  this 
platform.  No  pillars  were  found  in  connection  with  it.  Probably 
such  pillars  were  not  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock,  but  were,  like  the 
sacred  stone  of  Gezer,  brought  from  elsewhere.  The  arrangement 
of  other  high  places  would  indicate  that  they  stood  on  or  near  this 
platform.  As  this  high  place  was  not  buried,  but  exposed  on  the 

1  See  Part  II,  p.  442. 

2  For  descriptions  of  this  high  place,  see  the  article  by  its  discoverer,  George  L.  Robinson,  in  the 
Biblical  World,  XVII,  6-16;  by  S.  I.  Curtis  in  the  Quarterly  Statement  of  the  Palestine  Exploration 
Fund,  October,  1900,  pp.  350-355;  Savignac  in  Revue  biblique ,  1903,  280-284;  Libby  and  Hoskins, 
The  Jordan  Valley  and  Petra,  New  York,  1905,  II,  172,  ff.;  Briinnow  and  Domaszewski,  Provincia 
Arabia,  Vol.  I,  Strassburg,  1904,  239-245;  Dalman,  Petra,  Leipzig,  1908,  56-58. 


HIGH  PLACES  AND  TEMPLES 


175 


mountain  top,  such  pillars  have  in  the  course  of  the  ages  disappeared. 
The  altar  is  separated  from  the  adjoining  rock  by  a  passageway 
which  was  cut  on  its  north,  south,  and  west  sides.  It  is  of  the 
same  height  as  the  adjoining  rock.  On  the  east  the  ledge  has  been 
cut  down  to  the  level  of  the  foot  of  the  altar.  The  altar  is  9  feet  1 
inch  in  length  from  north  to  south  and  6  feet  2  inches  wide.  It  is 
3  feet  high  at  its  highest  point.  On  the  top  of  the  altar  is  a  hollow 
pan,  perhaps  to  receive  the  fire.  This  is  3  feet  8  inches  long,  1  foot 
2  inches  wide,  and  3§  inches  deep.  Ascent  to  the  altar  was  made 
by  a  flight  of  steps  leading  up  to  its  top  on  the  east  side.  The  top 
step  is  wader  than  the  others  and  forms  a  platform  on  which  the 
officiating  priest  might  stand;  (see  Fig.  217). 

Just  south  of  the  altar  and  separated  from  it  by  the  passageway 
was  the  place  where  the  victims  were  slain.  This  has  been  called 
the  round  altar;  (see  Fig.  218).  This  consists  of  a  platform  16 
feet  6  inches  long  from  east  to  west,  11  feet  9  inches  wide.  It  is 
approached  by  a  flight  of  steps.  Near  its  center  are  two  circular 
and  concentric  pans,  the  larger  3  feet  8  inches  in  diameter  with  a 
depth  of  3  inches,  the  smaller  1  foot  5  inches  in  diameter  with  a 
depth  of  2  inches.  From  this  inner  basin  a  conduit  3  feet  2  inches 
long,  2  inches  wide,  and  3  inches  deep  conducted  the  blood  to  the 
edge  of  the  platform.  This  platform  was  undoubtedly  intended  for 
the  place  of  slaughter.  The  Samaritans,  when  they  assemble  on 
Mount  Gerizim  for  the  celebration  of  the  Passover,  still  dig  a  round 
hole  in  the  turf,  over  which  to  slay  the  victim.  This  hole  is  about 
18  inches  in  diameter  and  10  inches  deep.  From  it  a  conduit  is  dug, 
through  which  the  blood  flows  off  to  be  absorbed  by  the  earth.1 

The  supposed  laver  at  Petra  is  to  the  south  of  the  area  of  the 
high  place.  It  is  9  feet  9  inches  in  length  and  8  feet  6  inches  in 
width.  It  is  now  partially  filled  with  earth,  and  has  above  the 
earth  an  average  depth  of  3  feet. 

The  remains  of  three  other  supposed  high  places  have  been  found 
at  Petra,  but  lack  of  space  forbids  their  description  here.2  The 
pillars  supposed  to  have  been  connected  with  one  of  them  are 
shown  in  Fig.  219. 

8.  A  Supposed  Philistine  Temple. — Turning  now  to  Palestinian 
temples:  Macalister  discovered  the  remains  of  a  building  at  Gezer 


1  See  the  writer’s  A  Year’s  Wandering  in  Bible  Lands,  Philadelphia,  1904,  pp.  193,  194. 

2  Those  interested  in  them  will  find  them  described  in  Briinnow  and  Domaszewski’s  Provincia 
Arabia,  I,  246,  ff.,  and  in  Dalman’s  Petra,  142,  225,  272,  etc. 


176 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


which  he  thinks  may  have  been  a  temple.1  This  building  belonged 
to  the  third  Semitic  stratum;  in  other  words,  to  the  period  just  be¬ 
fore  the  coming  of  the  Israelites.  A  general  plan  of  its  walls  is 
shown  in  Fig.  220.  In  a  court  in  one  part  of  the  structure  were 
five  pillars  which  may  have  had  the  same  religious  significance 
as  the  pillars  of  the  high  place.  The  two  circular  structures 
/  /  remind  one  of  the  circular  structures  of  the  high  place  of 
Gezer.  These  were  filled  with  the  fragments  of  the  bones  of  sheep 
and  goats.  As  these  bore  no  marks  of  cooking,  they  could  not  have 
been  mere  domestic  ash-pits,  and  it  is  plausible  to  think  of  them  as 
receptacles  for  the  bodies  of  slaughtered  victims.  In  a  forecourt  of 
the  structure  a  line  of  bases,  apparently  intended  for  the  support 
of  columns,  was  found.  Macalister  conjectured  that  these  sup¬ 
ported  a  roof  over  a  part  of  the  portico,  and  it  reminded  him  of  the 
story  of  Samson  in  the  temple  of  Dagon.  (See  Judges  16  :  23-30.) 
It  is  quite  possible  that  the  feast  of  Dagon  described  in  Judges  16 
may  have  been  held  in  a  structure  similar  to  this,  that  the  lords  of 
the  Philistines  may  have  been  gathered  in  such  a  porch,  and  that 
Samson  may  have  pulled  such  pillars  as  rested  upon  these  bases  from 
under  the  roof  that  sheltered  them,  and  caused  their  destruction 
and  his  own  death.  It  is  all  possible,  but  conjectural. 

9.  At  Megiddo. 

(1)  A  Hebrew  Temple. — In  the  course  of  the  excavation  at 
Megiddo  a  temple  was  found  concerning  the  sacred  nature  of 
which  there  can  be  no  such  doubts  as  in  the  case  of  the  build¬ 
ing  just  mentioned2;  (Fig.  222).  This  temple  was  in  the  Israel- 
itish  stratum,  and  so  is  of  especial  interest  to  the  students  of 
the  Bible.  It  was  situated  in  the  highest  part  of  the  city.  The 
whole  space  was  not  excavated,  but  the  portion  uncovered  was 
131  feet  long  and  115  wide.  It  was  of  the  same  period  as  the 
palace  in  which  the  seal  of  Shema  the  servant  of  Jeroboam  was 
found,  and  contained  more  drafted  stones  than  the  walls  of  that 
palace.  In  one  of  the  rooms  of  the  temple  stood  two  stones  that 
were  certainly  “pillars”  such  as  are  denounced  in  Deuteronomy. 
One  of  these  was  7  feet  8  inches  high;  the  other,  7  feet  high.  The 
room  in  which  these  pillars  stood  was  30  feet  long  and  10  feet  7 
inches  wide.  In  building  the  wall  of  this  temple  a  stone  was  used 
that  had  once  formed  the  voluted  capital  of  a  column;  (Fig.  224). 
Probably  this  stone  was  taken  from  an  earlier  Philistine  building. 

1  See  Macalister,  Excavation  of  Gezer,  II,  405,  ff.  2  Schumacher,  Tell  el-Mulesellim,  110-124. 


HIGH  PLACES  AND  TEMPLES 


177 


In  the  grounds  of  the  temple,  which  were  once  regarded  as  holy, 
several  jars  containing  the  skeletons  of  children  were  unearthed. 
These  had  apparently  been  offered  in  sacrifice  and  buried  like  those 
found  in  the  high  place  of  Gezer. 

While  the  walls  of  this  temple  were  built  of  larger  and  more  care¬ 
fully  cut  stones  than  most  of  the  other  walls  in  the  city,  no  effort 
seems  to  have  been  made  to  give  the  temple  a  definite  architectural 
plan.  Large  towers  were  found  near  it,  but,  as  the  temple  was  at 
the  east  end  of  the  city,  these  formed  part  of  fortifications.  The 
fortifications  and  other  buildings  crowded  upon  the  temple,  so 
that,  had  an  effort  been  made  to  make  it  architecturally  imposing, 
the  effect  would  have  been  lost. 

(2)  A  Palace  Chapel. — The  people  of  Megiddo  seem  to  have  been 
particularly  fond  of  the  type  of  worship  represented  by  this  temple, 
for  in  a  room  to  the  east  of  the  palace  of  the  Hebrew  governor  was  a 
room  containing  three  “pillars,”  in  which  the  remains  of  a  number  of 
terra-cotta  goddesses  were  found.1  This  was  apparently  the  pri¬ 
vate  chapel  of  the  palace.  This  room  was  almost  40  feet  long  and  32 
feet  10  inches  wide;  (Fig.  223).  Its  beginnings  antedate  the  Israel- 
itish  period,  since  they  come  from  the  stratum  before  the  conquest. 

(3)  Another  Chapel. — What  seems  to  have  been  still  another 
place  of  worship  equipped  with  the  necessary  “pillars”  was  found  in 
the  Hebrew  stratum  between  the  governor’s  palace  and  the  southern 
gate  of  the  city.2  It  would  appear  from  the  connecting  walls  that 
this  sacred  place  may  also  have  been  intended  for  the  special  use  of 
the  occupants  of  the  palace.  This  room  was  not  quite  30  feet  long 
and  a  little  less  than  20  feet  wide.  It  contained  six  stones  which  Dr. 
Schumacher  took  to  be  “pillars.”  Like  those  at  Petra  and  Taanach, 
they  had  evidently  been  shaped  with  tools.  They  did  not  stand 
in  a  row  or  in  any  regular  relation  to  one  another.  This  might 
throw  some  doubt  upon  the  religious  significance  of  the  stones. 
Could  they  not  have  been  columns  used  in  supporting  the  roof 
of  the  building?  Since  a  small  stone  object  that  had  religious 
significance  in  the  high  places  was  found  in  this  room,  together 
with  a  most  remarkable  incense  burner,  it  is  probable  that  these 
were  religious  “pillars”  and  that  the  room  was  a  little  chapel. 
The  object  was  of  limestone  and  about  7  inches  long.  It  was  lying 
at  the  foot  of  one  of  the  “pillars.”  The  incense  burner  was  made  of 
a  greyish  soft  limestone.  It  was  a  little  over  9  inches  in  height. 

Schumacher,  Tell  el- Mutes ellim,  105-110.  2  Ibid.,  125-130. 


178 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


The  diameter  of  the  bowl  was  6f  inches.  The  stone  was  cut  so  that 
the  bowl  rested  on  a  pedestal,  which  was  divided  by  rings  into  two 
portions,  each  of  which  was  cut  so  as  to  represent  a  circle  of  over¬ 
hanging  leaves;  (see  Fig.  225).  The  whole  was  decorated  with 
reddish-brown  and  cobalt-blue  paints.  The  decoration  of  the  rim 
of  the  bowl  is  a  geometrical  design,  that  on  the  bowl  itself  repre¬ 
sents  a  sort  of  conventionalized  lily  blossom,  while  the  leaves  sug¬ 
gest  those  of  the  palm. 

These  discoveries  make  it  plain  that  the  Canaanite  temples  of 
Palestine,  which  the  Hebrews  took  over,  were  simply  high  places  in 
miniature,  enclosed  in  walls  and  probably  roofed  over,  though  the 
roofs  have  disappeared.  The  feeling  that  led  to  the  change  from  the 
open  air  high  place  was  the  same  as  that  underlying  the  saying  of 
David:  “I  dwell  in  a  house  of  cedar,  but  the  ark  of  God  dwelleth 
within  curtains”  (2  Sam.  7:2). 

10.  The  Temple  to  Augustus  at  Samaria. — The  excavations  at 
Samaria1  have  brought  to  light  the  foundation  of  the  temple  erected 
by  Herod  the  Great  in  honor  of  Augustus.2  This  was  a  temple 
of  a  very  different  type.  It  was  patterned  on  Graeco-Roman  models 
and  everything  was  done  to  make  it  architecturally  impressive. 
Unfortunately,  the  results  of  the  Harvard  expedition  have  not  yet 
been  given  to  the  public  in  detail,  but  from  the  imposing  stairway, 
discovered  during  the  first  season  of  the  excavation,  together  with 
the  partial  plan  of  the  building  as  then  uncovered,  and  the  outlines 
of  its  walls  as  a  later  season’s  work  disclosed  them,  one  can  form 
some  idea  of  the  imposing  appearance  of  this  structure.  A  massive 
stairway  led  up  to  a  large  platform  surrounded  by  large  pillars. 
This  formed  the  portico.  Back  of  this  stretched  the  walls  of  the 
temple.  The  general  form  of  the  building  seems  to  have  been 
similar  to  that  of  the  large  temple  at  Jerash,  which  will  be  described 
in  Chapter  XIV.3  At  the  foot  of  the  stairway  leading  up  to  the 
temple  was  found  a  large  altar,  and  near  this  a  fallen  statue  of 
Augustus.  For  outlines  of  the  temple,  see  Figs.  216  and  221. 

These  ancient  places  of  worship  which  archaeology  has  brought  to 
light  are  eloquent  witnesses  of  the  pathetic  way  the  men  of  Pales¬ 
tine  “felt  after  God,  if  haply  they  might  find  him”  (Acts  17  :  27), 
and  the  pathos  is  not  lessened  by  the  fact  that  they  thus  continued 
to  grope,  even  after  the  clearer  light  was  shining  about  them. 

1  See  Harvard  Theological  Review,  II,  102-113;  III,  248-263. 

2  See  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews ,  XV,  viii,  5,  and  Wars  of  the  Jews,  I,  xxi,  2. 

3  See  especially  Fig.  269. 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE  TOMBS  OF  PALESTINE 

Burning  the  Dead.  Cave  Burials.  Cistern  Burial.  Burial  under  Menhirs. 
Earth-graves.  Rock-hewn  Shaft  Tombs.  Doorway  Tombs.  Tombs  with  a 
Rolling-stone. 

1.  Burning  the  Dead. — As  noted  in  a  previous  chapter,1  the  cave- 
dwellers  of  Gezer  burned  their  dead.  The  Semitic  inhabitants  of 
Palestine  did  not  follow  this  custom,  but  buried  theirs.  At  Gezer 
the  caves  that  had  formed  the  dwellings  of  the  first  inhabitants  were 
put  by  the  Semites  to  various  uses.  Sometimes  they,  too,  lived  in 
them;  sometimes  they  made  cisterns  of  them;  and  sometimes  they 
utilized  them  as  places  of  burial  for  their  dead. 

2.  Cave  Burials. — A  cave  that  became  a  tomb  after  the  Semitic 
occupation  was  the  one  that  had  been  the  crematorium  of  the 
pre-Semitic  inhabitants.2  All  over  the  floor  of  the  cave  above  the 
burned  bones  was  another  stratum  of  bones  that  had  never  been 
burned.  These  were  scattered  over  the  floor  of  the  cave,  and,  al¬ 
though  they  had  been  much  disturbed  by  rats,  it  appeared  that  they 
belonged  to  that  early  type  of  burial  in  which  the  body  is  placed  on 
its  side  with  the  knees  drawn  up  toward  the  chin.  These  bodies 
had  apparently  been  deposited  in  all  parts  of  the  cave.  Ranged 
around  the  sides  of  the  cave  was  a  series  of  enclosures  marked  off 
from  the  floor  by  lines  of  stones.  In  these,  portions  of  various 
skeletons  were  found.  These  enclosures  seem  to  have  been  reserva¬ 
tions  made  for  persons  of  distinction.  For  a  time,  therefore,  the 
cave  seems  to  have  been  used  as  a  general  place  of  burial.  In  some 
of  the  other  caves  of  Gezer  evidence  was  found  that  they  had  been 
used  as  tombs.3  Beautiful  pottery  and  alabaster  vessels  were 
found  with  the  bones.  Wine  and  possibly  food  for  the  dead  had 
been  placed  in  these.  Underneath  the  pottery  in  one  cave  a  con¬ 
siderable  number  of  scarabs  were  found,  some  of  them  mounted  in 


1  See  Chapter  V,  p.  105. 

2  See  Macalister,  Excavation  of  Gezer ,  I,  286. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  122,  f. 

179 


180 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


gold.  This  must  have  been,  accordingly,  the  burial  place  of  persons 
of  comparative  wealth.  Similar  cave  burials  were  found  by  Mac¬ 
kenzie  at  Beth-shemesh.1 

Such  cave  burials  as  these  at  once  recall  Abraham’s  purchase  of 
the  cave  of  Machpelah  as  recorded  in  Gen.  23.  The  kind  of 
burial  presupposed  in  that  chapter  is  just  that  found  at  Gezer. 
The  mouth  of  the  cave  could  be  closed  up  and  opened  at  will  for 
later  burials.  (See  Gen.  50  :  13.) 

The  custom  of  placing  food  or  drink  or  both  in  the  sepulcher  was 
all  but  universal  in  Palestine.  It  is  silent  testimony  to  a  faith  in  a 
kind  of  after-life.  That  that  life  as  they  conceived  it  was  of  a 
shadowy  and  an  unsatisfactory  nature  is  shown  by  the  references 
to  it  in  Isa.  14  :  9-11  and  Ezek.  32  :  22-32. 2  Nevertheless,  these 
evidences  that  the  mourners  who  stood  by  every  ancient  tomb 
provided  food  for  their  loved  ones  to  eat  in  the  after-life  is  elo¬ 
quent  testimony  to  the  fact  that  even  in  that  age  the  loving 
heart  found  it  impossible  to  believe  that  the  life  of  its  dear  ones 
had  been  altogether  terminated. 

3.  Cistern  Burial. — Another  burial  at  Gezer  that  must  have  been 
connected  with  some  unusual  circumstance  led  to  the  deposit  of 
fifteen  bodies  in  a  cistern,3  and  a  number  of  spear  heads  were  found 
with  them.  The  skeletons  were  all  males  except  .one,  which 
was  that  of  a  girl  about  sixteen  years  old,  whose  spine  had  been 
severed  and  only  the  upper  part  of  the  skeleton  deposited  in  the 
cistern;  (see  Fig.  229).  The  cistern  is  too  deep  to  favor  the  sup¬ 
position  that  the  bodies  had  been  deposited  at  successive  times. 
Macalister  hazards  the  conjecture  that  the  men  died  of  plague 
and  that  the  girl  was  offered  as  a  sacrifice  to  propitiate  the 
deity.  A  plague,  however,  would  have  attacked  women  as  well 
as  men.  Perhaps  the  men  were  slain  in  defending  Gezer  from 
the  attack  of  an  enemy  that  had  succeeded  in  severing  the  body 
of  the  girl.  The  real  cause  of  the  tragedy  is,  however,  unknown 
to  us. 

4.  Burial  under  Menhirs. — A  very  old  form  of  burial,  still  prac¬ 
tised  by  the  half-nomadic  tribes  east  of  the  Jordan,  is  to  place  the 
dead  in  the  earth  within  one  of  the  prehistoric  gilgals  or  menhirs. 
How  old  this  form  of  burial  is,  it  is  impossible  to  tell.  It  is  assumed 


1  Palestine  Exploration  Fund’s  Annual ,  II,  42,  ff. 

2  For  a  Babylonian  parallel,  see  Part  II,  p.  423,  ff. 

3  See  Macalister,  Excavation  of  Gezer,  II,  429,  f. 


THE  TOMBS  OF  PALESTINE 


181 


by  some  writers  that  it  was  practised  by  the  neolithic  people  who 
erected  these  monuments,  and  who  are  believed  by  such  wjiters  to 
have  been  ancestor  worshipers.  If,  however,  these  neolithic  men 
were  akin  to  the  neolithic  cave-dwellers  of  Gezer,  they  burned  their 
dead.  Another  explanation  is,  accordingly,  more  probable.  All 
through  the  history  of  Palestine  the  sanctity  of  certain  spots  has 
persisted.  A  place  once  considered  as  holy,  if  not  so  regarded  by 
the  next  wave  of  conquerors,  nevertheless  often  has  enough  sanctity 
clinging  to  it  to  make  it  taboo.  No  thief  will  disturb  objects  left 
within  its  precincts,  lest  the  spirit  of  the  place  bring  disaster  upon 
him.  It  seems  probable  that  the  wandering  tribes  on  the  border  of 
the  Arabian  Desert  have  utilized  the  sacred  places  of  these  pre¬ 
historic  men  for  the  burial  of  their  dead,  in  order  that  the  fear  of 
violating  the  taboo  pertaining  to  these  places  may  secure  the  bodies 
from  disturbance.  Whatever  the  reason  may  be,  they  still  bury 
their  dead  in  such  precincts  and  place  their  tribal  wasms  or  marks  on 
such  stones.1 

5.  Earth-graves. — The  simplest  form  of  burial  was  to  place  the 
body  in  the  ground  without  accessory  of  any  kind.  In  the  course 
of  the  excavation  of  Gezer  a  few  burials  of  this  sort  came  to  light.2 
The  skeleton  was  in  these  cases  stretched  out;  sometimes  it  was  ly¬ 
ing  on  its  back;  sometimes  on  its  side.  As  these  bodies  were  buried 
without  accessories,  so  contrary  to  the  custom  of  the  Palestinians 
who  placed  food  or  drink  by  the  dead,  the  excavator  thought  that 
they  were  probably  the  graves  of  murdered  persons,  who  had  been 
hastily  concealed  in  the  earth. 

Another  form  of  burial,  when  the  interment  occurred  within  a 
city,  is  illustrated  by  the  five  “Philistine”  graves  found  at  Gezer.3 
These  graves  were  excavations  in  the  earth,  lined  with  cement,  and, 
after  the  interment,  covered  with  four  or  five  massive  stones 
and  earth;  (Fig.  226).  In  these  graves  the  usual  deposits  of  food 
and  drink  had  been  made  in  beautiful  bronze  and  silver  vessels, 
which  show  kinship  to  the  art  of  Cyprus;  (see  Fig.  137).  They 
are  probably,  therefore,  Philistine. 

6.  Rock-hewn  Shaft  Tombs. — A  form  of  tomb  of  which  many 
examples  are  to  be  found  in  all  parts  of  Palestine  is  the  rock-hewn 
tomb.  The  limestone  of  the  country  is  easily  cut,  and  lends  itself 

»  See  Biblical  World,  Vol.  XXIV,  p.  177. 

2  See  Macalister,  Excavation  of  Gezer,  I,  288,  f. 

*  Ibid.,  289,  ff. 


182 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


readily  to  the  construction  of  this  kind  of  burial-place.  Such 
tombs  are  of  two  kinds — “shaft”  tombs  and  “doorway”  tombs. 

The  structure  of  a  shaft  tomb  is  as  follows:1  The  tomb  chamber 
or  chambers  are  cut  in  the  rock  and  are  approached  by  a  perpen¬ 
dicular  rock-hewn  shaft,  which  is  usually  rectangular.  This  shaft 
is  closed  at  the  bottom  with  slabs  and  then  the  shaft  is  filled  with 
earth.  Such  tombs  are  usually  constructed  in  ledges  covered  over 
with  soil,  so  that,  when  the  hole  leading  to  the  rock-cut  shaft  is 
filled,  the  tomb  is  effectually  concealed.  Such  tombs  are  very 
numerous  all  the  way  from  pre-Israelitish  times  to  the  Greek  period. 
For  a  plan  of  one,  see  Fig.  228. 

7.  Doorway  Tombs. — The  “doorway”  tombs  are  sometimes  cut 
in  a  ledge  that  is  altogether  under  ground.  In  that  case  a  flight  of 
steps  is  excavated  leading  down  to  the  door;  (Fig.  232).  Often 
the  tomb  is  cut  in  a  ledge  on  the  slope  of  a  hill,  so  that  the 
doorway  is  approached  from  the  level  of  the  ground;  (see  Fig.  227). 
Doors  were,  no  doubt,  fitted  into  the  doorways.  The  places  cut  in 
the  rock  for  the  latches  or  bars  of  such  doors  are  sometimes  still 
visible.  These  tombs  consisted  sometimes  of  one  room,  sometimes 
of  several.  Sometimes  the  bodies  were  laid  on  the  floor  of  the 
tomb;  sometimes  elevated  benches  or  shelves  were  cut  in  the  rock 
on  which  bodies  might  be  placed.  Quite  as  often  shafts  or  niches 
were  cut  into  the  rock,  into  which  a  body  or  a  sarcophagus  could  be 
shoved  endwise.  Such  a  shaft  is  called  technically  a  kok ,  in  the 
plural,  kokim.  For  examples  of  them,  see  Figs.  233,  237.  The  date 
at  which  this  kind  of  tomb  was  introduced  has  not  been  satisfac¬ 
torily  determined. 

Sometimes  numerous  small  tombs,  each  one  resembling  some¬ 
what  a  kok,  were  cut  in  a  hillside.  Archaeologists  call  such  a  group 
of  tombs  a  “columbarium”;  (see  Fig.  230). 

In  the  Hellenistic  and  Roman  periods  efforts  were  made  to  give 
adornment  to  such  tombs.  The  so-called  “Tombs  of  the  Judges”2 
near  Jerusalem,  of  which  the  writer  was  the  first  to  make  a  scientific 
examination,  is  a  good  example  of  this  kind  of  tomb3;  (see  Fig.  231). 
This  tomb  consisted  of  three  rooms  in  its  upper  level  and  three  in 
its  lower  level;  (see  Fig.  235).  The  ledges  and  kokim  in  it  made 
provision  for  seventy  bodies,  and  a  rough  chamber  opening  out  of 

1  See  Bliss  and  Macalister,  Excavations  in  Palestine,  i8q8-iqoo,  p.  9,  ff. 

2  So  called  because  of  a  tradition  that  the  members  of  the  Sanhedrin  were  buried  there.  The 
tradition  probably  arose  because  the  kokim  and  shelves  make  provision  for  seventy  bodies. 

3  See  Journal  of  Biblical  Literature,  XXII,  1903,  p.  164,  ff. 


THE  TOMBS  OF  PALESTINE 


183 


room  D  was  evidently  used  for  the  deposit  of  the  bones  of  those 
who  had  been  long  dead,  when  a  niche  or  kok  was  needed  for  the 
reception  of  another  body.  Sometimes  the  pillars  of  a  porch  were 
carved  out  of  the  solid  rock.  A  number  of  such  tombs  are  to  be 
found  near  Jerusalem.  There  is  one  in  the  Kidron  Valley  near 
Gethsemane,  cut  wholly  out  of  the  rock  and  finished  to  a  spire 
at  the  top.  This  is  the  so-called  “Absalom’s  pillar.” 

In  the  time  of  Christ  the  tombs  of  Israel’s  heroes  were  adorned 
and  venerated.  Jesus  alludes  to  this  in  Luke  11  : 47,  48.  Elisha 
must  have  been  buried  in  a  doorway  tomb,  into  which  by  opening 
the  door  the  body  of  a  man  could  be  easily  thrown.  (See  2  Kings 
13  :  20,  21.)  It  was,  no  doubt,  the  memory  of  such  narratives  as 
this  that  led  to  the  reverence  paid  to  the  tombs  of  the  prophets  in 
the  time  of  Christ. 

Another  tomb  at  Jerusalem,  called  the  “Tombs  of  the  Kings,”  has 
a  large  open  court  cut  down  into  the  rock,  from  the  different  sides 
of  which  entrances  lead  to  the  other  tomb  chambers.  This  tomb 
was  built  for  Queen  Helena  of  Adiabene,  the  ancient  Assyria,  who, 
in  the  days  of  Herod  the  Great,  was  converted  to  Judaism  and  re¬ 
moved  to  Jerusalem.  She  died  and  was  buried  there.1 

Sometimes  in  the  Seleucid  period  the  interior  of  the  tombs  was 
also  made  very  ornate.  Such  were  the  tombs,  discovered  in  1902, 2 
of  some  wealthy  Greek-speaking  citizens  of  Marissa.  A  plan  of 
one  of  them  is  shown  in  Fig.  234,  and  examples  of  its  inner 
ornamentation  in  Fig.  236.  These  tombs  were  also  adorned  with 
pictures  of  vases,  trees,  animals,  etc.;  (see  Fig.  239).  The  figures, 
as  well  as  the  interior  generally,  were  decorated  with  red,  yellow, 
and  brown  paints.  One  of  them  was  that  of  Apollophanes,  chief 
of  the  Sidonians  at  Marissa.  Over  the  different  niches  in  the 
tombs  the  names  of  the  persons  buried  were  inscribed  in  Greek 
letters. 

Rock-cut  tombs,  whether  large  or  small,  were  regarded  as  im¬ 
portant  possessions,  and  the  people  who  might  be  buried  in  them 
were  frequently  carefully  specified  by  their  builders.  An  example 
of  this  may  be  found  in  Part  II  of  the  present  work,  p.  442. 

8.  Tombs  with  a  Rolling-stone.— One  other  type  of  tomb  must 
be  noticed  even  in  this  hasty  sketch.  To  close  a  “doorway” 
tomb  securely  must  always  have  been  a  matter  of  difficulty  in  Pales- 


1  See  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  XX,  ii,  1;  iv,  3. 

*  See  Peters  and  Thiersch,  Painted  Tombs  at  Marissa,  London,  1905. 


184 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


tine.  It  was  not  easy  with  the  kind  of  locks  they  had  to  keep  in¬ 
truders  out  of  tombs.  This  led  to  the  cutting  of  a  large  groove  by 
the  side  of  the  doorway  into  which  a  rolling-stone  was  fitted.  When 
it  was  desired  to  open  the  tomb,  the  stone  could  be  rolled  back. 
The  stones  were  too  heavy  to  be  easily  disturbed.  It  was  in  a  new 
tomb  of  this  type  that  the  body  of  Jesus  was  laid,  and  it  was  such  a 
stone  that  the  women  found  rolled  away  on  the  resurrection  morn¬ 
ing.  (See  Matt.  28  :  2;  Mark  16  :  3,  4;  Luke  24  :  2;  John  20  :  1, 
and  Fig.  238.) 


CHAPTER  XIII 


JERUSALEM1 

Situation.  Gihon.  Cave-dwellers.  The  El-Amarna  Period.  Jebusite  Jeru¬ 
salem.  The  City  of  David:  Millo.  David’s  reign.  Solomon’s  Jerusalem:  Site 
of  Solomon’s  buildings.  Solomon’s  temple.  Solomon’s  palace.  From  Solomon  to 
Hezekiah.  Hezekiah.  From  Hezekiah  to  the  Exile.  The  Destruction  of 
586  b.  c.  The  Second  Temple.  Nehemiah  and  the  Walls.  Late  Persian  and 
Early  Greek  Periods.  In  the  Time  of  the  Maccabees.  Asmoidean  Jerusalem. 
Herod  the  Great:  Herod’s  palace.  Herod’s  theater.  Herod’s  temple.  The  Pool 
of  Bethesda.  Gethsemane.  Calvary.  Agrippa  I  and  the  Third  Wall. 

1.  Situation. — Since  1867  excavations  have  been  made  at  Jeru¬ 
salem  from  time  to  time.  The  most  important  of  these  were 
mentioned  in  Chapter  IV.  An  attempt  will  be  made  here  to  set 
before  the  reader  the  growth  and  development  of  Jerusalem  from 
period  to  period,  as  that  growth  is  now  understood  by  foremost 
scholars.  Our  knowledge  of  the  situation  and  form  of  the  city  in 
the  different  periods  is  based  partly  on  formal  excavations,  partly 
on  remains  that  have  been  accidentally  found,  and  partly  on  a  study 
of  the  references  to  Jerusalem  in  the  Bible  and  other  ancient  writ¬ 
ings.  These  references  are  interpreted  in  the  light  of  the  topog¬ 
raphy  and  of  the  archaeological  remains. 

Jerusalem  is  situated  on  the  central  ridge  of  Palestine,  where 
the  ridge  broadens  out  to  a  small  plateau.  The  plateau  at  this 
point  is  approximately  2,500  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Mediter¬ 
ranean  Sea.  In  a  narrower  sense  the  site  of  the  city  is  two  rocky 
promontories  which  run  south  from  the  plateau  with  the  valley 
El-Wad  (in  Roman  times  the  Tyropoeon)  between  them.  On  the 
north  these  promontories  merge  into  the  plateau,  but  on  the  east, 
south,  and  west  the  valleys  of  Hinnom  and  the  Kidron  sharply 
separate  them  from  the  surrounding  land.  The  steep  sides  of  these 
valleys  made  fortification  easy  in  ancient  times.  The  highest 
point  of  the  western  hill  is  about  400  feet  higher  than  the  bottom  of 
the  Kidron  valley,  which  in  ancient  times  was  20  to  40  feet  deeper 

1  All  who  can  do  so  should  read  George  Adam  Smith’s  Jerusalem  from  the  Earliest  Times  to 
A .  D.  yo,  New  York,  1908,  and  Hughes  Vincent’s  Jerusalem,  Paris,  1912.  Or,  if  this  is  not  possible, 
L.  B.  Paton’s  Jerusalem  in  Bible  Times,  Chicago,  1905. 


185 


186 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


than  now;  (see  Fig.  240).  Indeed,  the  position  was  almost  im¬ 
pregnable.  Only  on  the  north  was  the  city  vulnerable. 

West  of  the  city  hills  gently  rise  to  a  slight  elevation  and  shut 
out  the  view.  The  easternmost  of  the  two  promontories  is  lower 
than  the  western,  which  in  its  turn  slopes  to  the  east.  Just  south 
of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  to  the  east  of  Jerusalem,  there  is  a  rift  in  the 
hills  through  which  the  distant  mountains  of  Moab  can  be  seen. 
From  elevated  buildings  in  the  city  the  Dead  Sea  is  also  visible. 
The  slope  of  the  hills  of  Jerusalem  and  her  broader  outlook  to  the 
eastward  are  significant  of  the  influences  that  moulded  her  earlier 
history.  During  the  centuries  that  Israel  was  an  independent 
nation  the  Philistine  plain  was  nearly  always  in  the  hands  of  a 
hostile  people.  Jerusalem  was  thus  cut  off  from  influences  that 
might  otherwise  have  reached  her  from  across  the  Mediterranean, 
and  was  shut  up  to  influences  that  reached  her  through  kindred 
tribes  and  nations  to  the  east.  Thus  in  intellectual  kinship,  as  well 
as  in  physical  outlook,  the  gaze  of  Jerusalem  was  directed  toward 
the  Orient. 

All  Palestinian  cities  of  importance  were  situated  near  per¬ 
petual  springs.  There  are  at  Jerusalem  but  two  unfailing  sources 
of  water — the  Ain  Sitti  Miriam  (the  ancient  Gihon)  and  the  Bir 
Eyyub  (Biblical  En-rogel).  These  are  both  in  the  Kidron  valley, 
the  former  just  under  the  brow  of  the  eastern  hill  some  400  yards 
from  the  southern  point  of  the  hill,  the  latter  at  the  point  where  the 
valley  of  Hinnom  and  the  Kidron  unite.  Of  these  two  sources  of 
supply,  the  Gihon  is  pre-eminently  fitted  to  attract  an  early  settle¬ 
ment.  It  is  almost  under  the  hill,  wdiereas  the  other  is  out  in  the 
midst  of  the  open  valley.  Gihon,  too,  is  at  the  base  of  a  hill  that 
can  be  defended  easily  on  three  sides,  whereas  a  town  built  on  a 
hillside  above  En-rogel,  as  the  modern  Silwan  is,  could  be  easily 
attacked  from  above.  These  conditions  determined  the  situation 
of  the  earliest  settlement,  which  was  near  Gihon. 

2.  Gihon. — The  Parker  expedition  of  1909-1911  revealed  by  its 
excavations  the  fact  that  the  source  of  the  spring  of  Gihon  is  a 
great  crack  in  the  rock  in  the  bottom  of  the  valley  far  below  the 
present  apparent  source.1  This  crack  is  about  16  feet  long,  is  of 
great  depth,  and  runs  east  and  west.  The  western  end  of  it  just 
enters  the  mouth  of  the  cave  where  the  apparent  source  is  today, 
but  the  eastern  end  passes  out  into  the  bed  of  the  valley.  All  the 

1  See  Dr.  Masterman  in  the  Biblical  World,  Vol.  XXXIX,  p.  295,  f. 


JERUSALEM 


187 


water  would  discharge  into  the  valley  but  for  a  wall  at  the  eastern 
end  of  the  rift,  built  in  very  ancient  times,  which  confines  the  water 
and  compels  it  to  flow  into  the  cave.  This  wall  was  constructed  by 
some  of  the  earliest  inhabitants  of  the  place.  The  spring  thus 
produced  is  intermittent.  Its  flow  is  not  ceaseless.  The  water 
breaks  from  the  hole  in  the  rainy  season,  three  to  five  times  a 
day;  in  the  summer  but  twice  a  day;  and  after  the  failure  of  the 
spring  rains,  less  than  once  a  day.  This  fact  indicates  that  the 
waters  collect  in  some  underground  cavern  from  which  they  are 
drained  by  a  siphon-like  tunnel.  The  “troubling”  of  the  Pool  of 
Bethesda  (John  5  :  4)  is  thought  by  some  scholars  to  have  been  due 
to  the  action  of  such  a  siphon-like  spring. 

3.  Cave-dwellers. — About  this  spring  the  Parker  expedition 
found  large  caves  and  rooms  excavated  in  the  rock,  and  indications 
that  these  had  once  been  inhabited.  A  great  deal  of  pre-Israelite 
pottery  was  also  found  around  the  spring.  These  indications  seem 
to  show  that  the  site  was  inhabited  for  at  least  a  thousand  years 
before  David,  and  perhaps  for  two  thousand,  and  that  its  first  in¬ 
habitants  were  cave-dwellers.  One  naturally  thinks  in  this  con¬ 
nection  of  the  cave-dwellers  of  Gezer.  It  is  possible  that  the  first 
Jerusalemites  belonged  to  the  same  period  and  were  of  the  same  race. 
One  thinks,  too,  of  the  sacred  cave  and  the  stone  altar  on  the  next 
peak  of  the  eastern  ridge  to  the  north,  where  the  temple  afterward 
stood,  and  wonders  whether  it  may  not  have  been  the  sanctuary  of 
this  early  cave-dwelling  race.  A  definite  answer  cannot  be  given 
to  this  question.  One  can  only  recognize  that  it  may  possibly  be 
true. 

4.  The  El-Amarna  Period. — The  next  knowledge  we  have  of 
Jerusalem  comes  from  the  letters  of  Ebed-PIepa,  which  were  written 
to  Amenophis  IV  of  Egypt  between  1375  and  1357  b.  c.  At  that 
time  it  was  already  a  walled  city,  for  Ebed-Hepa  speaks  of  “throw¬ 
ing  it  open.”1 

The  fortified  city  of  Ebed-Hepa  was,  no  doubt,  identical  with  the 
later  Jebusite  city.  It  was  situated  on  the  eastern  hill  just  above 
the  spring  of  Gihon.  Probably  in  the  period  just  before  this  time 
it  had,  like  Gezer,  been  surrounded  by  a  massive  wall.  In  connec¬ 
tion  with  this  fortification  the  rock  near  Gihon  had  been  scarped 
(cut  to  a  perpendicular  surface)  in  order  to  increase  the  difficulty  of 

1  See  Part  II,  Chapter  XV,  Letter  V,  and  the  writer’s  note  in  the  Biblical  World ,  XXII,  p. 

11,  n.  5. 


188 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


scaling  the  wall.1  As  the  wall  of  Gezer  lasted  for  a  thousand  years, 
so  this  Egyptian  wall  continued  to  the  reign  of  David. 

It  is  privately  reported  that  Weil  in  his  excavation  in  1913-14 
found  on  the  eastern  hill  remains  of  a  wall  with  a  sloping  glacis 
similar  to  that  belonging  to  the  earliest  period  of  Megiddo.  This 
would  not  only  confirm  our  inference  that  Jerusalem  was  a  walled 
city  in  the  time  of  Ebed-Hepa,  but  indicate  that  its  wall  had  been 
built  at  a  much  earlier  time.  It  was  also  in  the  fourteenth  century 
B.  c.  the  capital  of  a  considerable  kingdom  which  Ebed-Hepa  ruled 
as  a  vassal  of  the  king  of  Egypt.  This  kingdom  extended  as  far 
west  as  Beth-shemesh  and  Keilah  (1  Sam.  23  :  1),  including,  per¬ 
haps,  Gezer.  Aijalon  seems  to  have  been  included  in  it  on  the 
north,  and  Carmel  in  Judah  (1  Sam.  25  :  2)  on  the  south. 

When  the  letters  of  Ebed-Hepa  were  written,  his  kingdom  was 
being  attacked  and  apparently  overcome  by  the  Habiri,  a  people 
who  may  have  been  the  first  wave  of  the  Hebrew  conquest.2  The 
letters  of  Ebed-Hepa  cease  without  telling  us  whether  or  not  the 
Habiri  captured  his  city.  If  they  did  and  they  were  really  Hebrews, 
they  did  not  hold  it  long,  for,  when  the  Biblical  records  lift  the  veil 
that  hides  so  much  of  the  past,  Jerusalem  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
Jebusites.  (See  Josh.  15  :  63 ;  Judges  1  :  21.) 

5.  Jebusite  Jerusalem. — The  Jebusites  held  it  all  through  the 
period  of  the  Judges  (Judges  19  :  10,  11).  Israel  did  not  capture  it 
until  the  reign  of  David.  (See  2  Sam.  5  :  6-8.)  At  some  earlier 
period  of  the  history  of  Jerusalem  an  underground  rock-cut  passage 
similar  to  the  one  at  Gezer3  had  been  made,  so  as  to  permit  the  in¬ 
habitants  in  case  of  siege  to  descend  to  the  spring  for  water  without 
going  outside  the  walls;  (see  Fig.  241).  The  natural  slope  of  the 
hill  had  been  reinforced  at  this  point  by  the  escarpment  of  the 
rock,  and  the  Jebusites  felt  so  secure  that  they  taunted  the  He¬ 
brews  from  the  top  of  the  walls.  Joab,  however,  discovered  the  way 
to  this  underground  passage  through  the  cave  back  of  the  spring, 
Gihon,  and,  leading  a  band  of  men  up  through  it,  appeared  suddenly 
within  the  city,  taking  the  Jebusites  by  surprise,  and  captured  it. 

6.  The  City  of  David. — David  then  took  up  his  residence  at 
Jerusalem,  thus  making  it  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel. 
Thus  the  city  of  the  Jebusites,  situated  on  the  eastern  hill,  which 
was  called  Zion,  became  the  “city  of  David.” 

i  See  Biblical  World,  XXXIX,  306. 

*  See  Part  II,  Chapter  XV.  s  See  Chapter  VI,  §  8. 


JERUSALEM 


189 


A  few  modern  writers  still  insist  that  the  “city  of  David”  was  on 
the  western  hill,  which  since  333  a.  d.  has  been  called  Zion.  This, 
as  most  scholars  have  seen,  is  an  impossible  view.  Solomon  built 
a  palace  for  Pharaoh’s  daughter  near  his  own  on  the  temple  hill, 
and,  when  she  moved  into  it,  she  went  up  out  of  the  city  of  David 
(1  Kings  9  :  24).  As  the  western  hill  is  higher  than  the  eastern, 
she  must  have  gone  from  a  point  on  the  eastern  hill  lower  than  the 
temple.  When  the  temple  was  completed,  Solomon  brought  the 
ark  up  from  the  city  of  David  to  the  holy  of  holies  in  the  new 
temple  (2  Chron.  5:2).  Scripture  thus  confirms  the  inferences 
from  the  pottery  and  the  water  supply,  that  the  “city  of  David” 
was  on  the  eastern  hill,  and  that  that  hill  was  Zion.  It  was  a  small 
town,  since  the  space  it  could  occupy  was  not  more  than  thirteen 
acres,  and  may  have  been  less. 

(1)  Millo. — After  occupying  his  new  capital  David  “built  round 
about  from  Millo  and  inward”  (2  Sam.  5:9).  What  was  Millo? 
This  is  a  great  puzzle,  and  there  are  many  varying  opinions  about 
it.  The  word  literally  means  a  “filling,”  and  is  employed  in  Assy¬ 
rian  for  the  building  up  of  a  terrace  on  which  a  building  may  be 
erected.  It  may  have  been  a  “filling”  on  the  line  of  the  valley  that 
separated  the  hill  of  the  citadel  of  David  from  Moriah  or  the  temple 
hill.  It  would  seem  to  have  been  on  the  edge  of  the  city,  since 
David  built  from  there  “inward.”  Some  have  supposed  it  to  be  a 
fortress,  and  the  Septuagint  translated  it  by  “akra,”  which  means 
“citadel.”  Some  have  thought  of  it  as  a  fort,  others  as  a  solid 
tower.  If  on  the  line  of  the  valley  mentioned,  it  may  have  been  at 
the  northeast  corner,  or  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the  town.  Some 
have  supposed  that  it  was  at  the  southern  end  of  the  eastern  hill  in 
order  to  protect  a  pool  there.  Just  below  the  southern  end  of  the 
eastern  hill  in  the  valley  of  the  Kidron  lay  the  “King’s  Gardens,” 
and  just  across  the  valley,  the  village  of  Siloah.  In  2  Kings  12  :  20 
it  is  said  that  Joash  was  killed  in  Millo,  leading  down  to  Silla.  We 
know  of  no  Silla.  Is  it  a  corruption  of  the  Hebrew  word  for  “shade” 
or  is  it  a  corruption  of  Siloah?  In  the  former  case  the  reference 
might  be  to  the  King’s  Gardens,  in  the  latter  to  the  village  of 
Siloah.  Either  of  these  suppositions  would  favor  a  site  for 
Millo  at  the  south  end  of  the  hill,  but  the  words  “leading  down 
to  Silla”  may  have  had  quite  a  different  origin  and  meaning.1 

1  Some  scholars  think  the  words  are  a  distorted  repetition  of  “in  Millo,”  which  was  accidentally 
repeated  by  a  scribe. 


190 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


We  must,  therefore,  confess  that  the  location  of  Millo  cannot  at 
present  be  determined. 

(2)  David’s  Reign. — As  David’s  reign  advanced  and  his  success 
in  war  compelled  neighboring  nations  to  pay  tribute,  probably  the 
population  of  Jerusalem  increased.  Such  an  increase  would  natur¬ 
ally  lead  to  the  erection  of  houses  outside  the  walls,  as  it  has  in 
recent  times.  It  is  altogether  probable  that  a  settlement  on  the 
western  hill  was  thus  begun  in  the  reign  of  David.  There  is  no 
hint,  however,  that  he  took  any  steps  to  enclose  such  a  settlement 
within  a  wall.  The  phrase  “the  way  of  the  gate”  in  2  Sam.  15  :  2 
implies  that  there  was  still  but  one  gate  in  the  walls.  This  is  in 
striking  contrast  to  the  number  of  gates  in  later  times.  The  only 
record  that  we  have  of  further  action  on  David’s  part  that  affected 
the  future  growth  of  Jerusalem  refers  to  the  way  in  which  he  took 
over  the  rock  on  Mount  Moriah  and  the  sacred  cave  under  it  and 
made  a  sanctuary  to  Jehovah.  (See  2  Sam.  24.)  This  action, 
at  a  later  time,  determined  the  site  of  the  temple. 

7.  Solomon’s  Jerusalem. — David  left  Jerusalem  a  military  for¬ 
tress;  Solomon  transformed  it  into  a  city  with  imposing  buildings. 
This  creation  of  a  more  imposing  city  was  in  accord  with  the  general 
character  of  Solomon’s  reign.  He  established  a  large  harem,  made 
marriage  alliances  with  many  neighboring  kings,  maintained  such 
an  establishment  that  it  was  necessary  to  make  a  regular  levy  on  a 
different  portion  of  the  country  each  month  for  supplies,  and  en¬ 
deavored  to  make  his  capital  as  splendid  as  the  capital  of  a  rich 
commercial  Phoenician  monarch.  Such  a  policy  necessitated, 
probably,  the  enlargement  of  Jerusalem.  David,  who  began  life 
as  a  shepherd-boy,  was  content  to  live  the  simple  life  to  the  end; 
Solomon,  born  to  the  purple,  desired  to  surround  himself  with  a 
pomp  befitting  his  rank.  The  Biblical  writers  were  more  interested 
in  the  construction  of  the  temple  and  of  Solomon’s  palace  than  in 
any  other  phase  of  his  work,  but  they  have  left  us  some  hints  of  his 
activities  in  other  directions. 

They  tell  us  that  he  “built  Millo  and  the  wall  of  Jerusalem” 
(1  Kings  9  :  15),  that  he  “built  the  wall  of  Jerusalem  round  about” 
(1  Kings  3:1),  and  that  he  “built  Millo  and  repaired  the  breach 
in  the  city  of  David,  his  father”  (1  Kings  11  :  27).  Evidently 
Millo  had  fallen  into  disrepair  since  David  rebuilt  it,  and  the  walls 
of  the  city  of  David  on  the  eastern  hill  were  also  in  need  of  repairs. 
These  repairs  he  made,  but  did  he  go  further?  It  is  intrinsically 


JERUSALEM 


191 


probable  that  he  did.  The  king  who  fortified  Hazor  in  Naphtali, 
Megiddo,  Gezer,  Beth-horon,  Baalath,  and  Tamar  would  hardly 
leave  a  large  suburb  of  his  capital  on  the  western  hill  unfortified. 
The  statement  that  he  “built  the  wall  of  Jerusalem  round  about,” 
while  it  does  not  clearly  state  that  he  did  more  than  fortify  the 
“city  of  David”  on  Zion,  seems  to  imply  that  he  did.  This  view  is 
strengthened  by  Bliss’s  discovery  on  the  western  hill  of  some  walls 
that  connected  once  with  a  great  fortress  at  the  southwest  corner 
of  the  western  hill,  which  he  believed  to  be  the  work  of  Solomon. 

The  site  of  this  fortress  is  now  occupied  by  “Bishop  Gobat’s 
School,”  an  English  foundation  for  the  education  of  native  boys. 
When  the  school  was  rebuilt  in  1874  Mr.  Henry  Maudsley 
examined  the  surface  of  the  rock,  which  is  escarped,  or  cut  per¬ 
pendicularly,  for  about  100  feet  to  the  southeast  of  the  school 
and  43  feet  north  of  it.  The  scarp  is  about  40  feet  high  at 
the  highest  point;  (Fig.  242).  The  school  is  built  on  a  large  pro¬ 
jection  of  the  scarp  45  feet  square  and  20  feet  high.  The  sur¬ 
face  of  the  rock  under  the  school  bears  unmistakable  signs  that 
there  was  once  an  ancient  tower  there.  To  the  eastward  of  this 
Bliss  discovered  the  foundations  of  an  ancient  tower.  Beyond  this 
to  the  east  there  was  a  deep  rock-cut  ditch.  The  tower  on  its 
northeast  corner  fitted  into  another  rock-scarp  which  ran  north¬ 
ward  into  land  on  which  they  could  not  excavate.1  The  deep 
rock-cut  ditch  or  moat  at  the  east  of  the  scarp  suggests  that  at  the 
period  of  the  Latin  kingdom  of  Jerusalem,  1099-1188  a.  d.,  this 
fortress  formed  the  fortification  of  the  southwest  corner  of  the  city, 
from  which  the  wall  ran  off  sharply  in  a  direction  a  little  east  of 
north.  This  view  is  confirmed  by  the  discovery  which  Bliss  made 
of  a  wall,  apparently  built  by  the  Crusaders,  that  ran  in  a  north¬ 
easterly  direction  by  an  irregular  course  along  the  high  part  of  the 
western  hill  toward  the  temple  area.  As  this  wall  rested  on  re¬ 
mains  of  the  Roman  time  it  cannot  well  have  belonged  to  a  time 
earlier  than  the  crusading  period.  May  not,  then,  Maudsley’s 
scarp  itself  have  been  cut  by  the  Crusaders  who  were  most  energetic 
and  masterly  builders?  This  seems  hardly  probable,  for  Josephus, 
in  describing  the  course  of  the  wall  on  the  west  side  of  the  western 
hill,  says  that  beginning  at  Herod’s  palace  (the  modern  Turkish 
fortress)  the  wall  ran  southward  through  a  place  called  “Bethso.”2 

1  Bliss  and  Dickie,  Excavations  at  Jerusalem,  1894-1897,  passim ,  and  p.  319,  ff. 

2  For  “Bethso,”  see  Josephus,  Wars  of  the  Jews,  V,  iv,  2. 


192 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Bethso  is  a  corruption  of  Beth-zur,  which  means  rock-fortress — an 
apt  description  of  the  tower  on  Maudsley’s  scarp.  As  Josephus 
makes  no  mention  of  the  construction  of  a  fortress  at  this  point  by 
Herod,  it  was  probably  built  at  an  earlier  period.  The  writer  holds 
with  Bliss  that  it  is  probable  that  the  original  fortress  on  the  site  of 
Bishop  Gobat’s  School  was  constructed  by  Solomon  and  that  he 
enclosed  the  top  of  the  western  hill  with  a  wall.  Whether  that 
wall  simply  enclosed  the  top  of  the  hill  and  followed  something  of 
the  same  course  as  the  wall  of  the  Crusaders  mentioned  above  (so 
Bliss  thinks),  or  whether  it  ran  down  the  eastern  slope  of  the  western 
hill  to  the  southern  point  of  the  “City  of  David,”  it  is  impossible 
now  to  determine. 

The  view  that  Solomon  extended  the  city  to  the  western  hill 
cannot  be  proved,  since  there  is  no  definite  reference  in  the  Bible 
to  the  western  hill  in  the  time  of  Solomon,  and  there  is  no  inscrip¬ 
tion  on  the.  masonry  found  definitely  to  connect  it  with  him.  In 
consideration  of  all  the  conditions  it  seems  probable,  that  Solomon 
enclosed  a  part  of  the  western  hill.  If  so,  the, wall  built  by  Solomon 
on  the  north  side  of  the  western  hill  was  probably  on  the  line  of  what 
Josephus  called  the  “first  wall.”  This  wall,  was  rebuilt  from  time 
to  time.  The  debris  of  a  part  of  it  seems  still  to  be  in  place  at  the 
east  end  of  “David  Street”  in  modern  Jerusalem.  A  short  street, 
high  above  the  surrounding  levels,  now  runs  on  the  top  of  this 
debris.1 

(1)  Site  of  Solomon’s  Buildings : — Concerning  the  building  of 
Solomon’s  palace  and  the  temple  there  can  be  no  doubt,  for  the 
Bible  contains  accounts  of  the  construction  of  these.  Their 
general  location  is  also  well  known.  They  were  across  the  little 
valley  which  separated  the  part  of  Zion  called  Ophel  (where  the  city 
of  David  was  situated)  from  the  part  sometimes  called  Moriah.2 
This  hill-top  included  the  threshing-floor  of  Araunah,  the  Jebusite 
(2  Sam.  24),  and  Solomon  now  enclosed  this  with  a  wall.  Sir 
Charles  Warren  believed  that  he  found  portions  of  this  wall  at  the 
southeast  angle  of  the  ancient  temple  area,  80  feet  below  the  present 
surface  of  the  ground.  During  his  excavations  in  the  years  1867- 
1870  he  sunk  at  this  point  a  shaft  to  the  native  rock,  from  the  bottom 
of  which  a  tunnel  was  carried  inward  to  the  base  of  the  wall.  He 

1  See  J.  E.  Hanauer,  Walks  about  Jerusalem,  London,  1910,  88,  89. 

2  The  writer  is  well  aware  that  the  name  Moriah  for  this  part  of  the  hill  rests  on  slender  evidence, 
but  he  employs  it  nevertheless  as  a  convenient  term,  since  it  is  well  understood  by  readers  of  the 
Bible. 


JERUSALEM 


193 


found  twenty-one  courses  of  drafted  stones  below  the  surface  at  this 
point,  and  the  stones  in  the  lower  courses  bore  quarry  marks  which 
resemble  old  Hebrew  or  Phoenician  characters.1  The  lower  courses 
of  stones  were  from  3  feet  6  inches  to  4  feet  3j  inches  in  height. 
Some  of  the  characters  were  cut  in  the  stones;  some  painted  on 
them.  It  is  most  probable  that  these  were  remains  of  the  work  of 
Solomon;  (see  Figs.  244,  245,  and  246). 

The  enclosure  of  this  hill- top  with  a  wall  set  it  apart  from  the 
rest  of  Jerusalem.  It  was  a  kind  of  separate  fortress.  At  the 
time  it  emphasized  the  majesty  of  Solomon — his  apartness  from  his 
people.  This  separate  enclosure  of  the  temple  hill  was  perpetuated 
through  the  whole  history  of  Jerusalem  and  is  maintained  today. 
In  all  periods  the  temple  hill  has  been  a  fortress  that  could  be  de¬ 
fended  apart  from  the  city. 

(2)  Solomon’s  Temple. — Of  the  form  and  situation  of  the  build¬ 
ings  of  Solomon  on  the  hill  that  was  enclosed  by  this  new  wall, 
there  is  a  wide  diversity  of  opinion.  This  diversity  arises  in  part 
from  the  fact  that  some  scholars  take  at  their  face  value  statements 
of  Josephus,  the  Talmud,  and  other  late  sources  concerning  Solo¬ 
mon’s  temple,  while  others  attribute  less  weight  to  the  statements 
of  those  sources  which  were  written  long  after  this  temple  was 
destroyed,  and  base  their  views  rather  on  the  earlier  documents. 
The  last  is  the  only  sound  method  of  study,  and  is  the  course  fol¬ 
lowed  here.  We  shall  take  as  evidence  of  the  plan  and  situation  of 
the  buildings  the  Biblical  writers  who  had  seen  them. 

We  are  at  the  start  confronted,  however,  with  a  difficulty,  since 
no  Biblical  writer  has  given  us  an  exact  statement  as  to  what  part 
of  the  hill  Solomon’s  temple  occupied.  Most  modern  scholars  hold, 
nevertheless,  that  it  was  built  at  the  highest  point  of  the  hill  just 
west  of  the  sacred  cave,  which  has  already  been  mentioned,2  and 
the  old  rock-altar  above  it.  This  view  is  confirmed  by  Josephus3 
and  is  undoubtedly  correct,  although  three  or  four  modern  scholars 
have  doubted  it.  The  temple  would  naturally  be  built  near  the 
spot  where  the  angel  is  said  to  have  appeared  to  David  (2  Sam.  24  : 
16),  and  as  angels  are  frequently  represented  in  the  Old  Testament 
as  appearing  upon  rocks  (see  Judges  6:11,  f.;  13  :  19)4  it  is  alto¬ 
gether  probable  that  the  appearance  to  David  was  on  the  rock-altar 

1  Warren  and  Conder,  Jerusalem,  pp.  148-158. 

2  See  Chapter  XI,  p.  168. 

3  Wars  of  the  Jews,  V,  v,  1. 

4  So  Stade,  Geschichte  des  Volkes  Israels,  Berlin,  1889, 1,  314,  and  G.  A.  Smith,  Jerusalem,  II,  60. 


194 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


at  the  top  of  the  hill.  On  this  rock  the  animals  for  sacrifice  were 
slain,  as  the  conduits  for  blood  still  visible  on  its  top  indicate. 
Near  it,  then,  or  on  it  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings  stood.  We  learn 
from  Ezekiel,  who  had  served  as  a  priest  in  the  temple  of  Solomon, 
that  the  temple  faced  the  east,  that  it  stood  to  the  west  of  the  altar, 
and  that  there  was  room  between  the  temple  and  the  altar  for 
twenty-five  men.  (See  Ezek.  8:16.)  The  temple  was  a  rectangu¬ 
lar  building  with  its  greatest  length  running  east  and  west.  Its 
measurements  were  124  feet  for  the  length,  50  for  the  breadth,  and 
55  for  the  height.  It  was  constructed  of  stones  and  cedar  beams. 
The  outer  temple,  afterward  called  the  holy  place,  was  70  feet 
long,  34|  feet  wade,  and  52  feet  high.  Back  of  it  was  the  holy  of 
holies,  where  the  ark  was  placed.  It  was  a  cube  34J  feet  each  way. 
Apparently  there  was  a  chamber  above  it.1  This  room  was  adorned 
with  carvings  of  cherubim,  palms,  and  open,  flowers  (1  Kings  6  :  29, 
32,  35).  It  had  no  window.  According  to  2  Chron.  3  :  14,  it  was 
separated  from  the  holy  place,  by  a  veil.  The  holy  place  contained 
the  table  of  show-bread  and  ten  golden  lamp-stands  (1  Kings  7  : 
49). 2  The  lattice  work  high  up  in  the  walls  of  this  room  (1  Kings 


1  In  giving  the  dimensions  of  the  various  temples,  the  writer  has  followed  the  calculations  of 
George  Adam  Smith  in  his  Jerusalem.  W.  Shaw  Caldecott  has  published  four  volumes,  one  on  the 
Tabernacle,  one  on  Solomon's  Temple,  one  on  the  Second  Temple,  and  one  on  Herod's  Temple,  in 
which  he  claims  to  have  discovered  a  key  that  harmonizes  all  the  Biblical  statements  as  to  the 
measurements  of  these  structures.  His  supposed  key  is  his  belief  that,  the  Babylonians  had  three 
different  cubits  which  they  used  side  by  side,  that  these  cubits  were  known  to  Moses,  and  that  their 
use  was  perpetuated  in  the  temple.  Should  these  pages  be  read  by  one  who  has  accepted  that 
claim  as  true,  it  is  but  fair  that  he  be  informed  that  Caldecott’s  whole  system  is  based  upon  a  mis¬ 
interpretation  of  a  Babylonian  tablet  that  was  published  in  Rawlinson’s  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of 
Western  Asia,  Vol.  IV,  p.  37.  (See  Tabernacle,  pp.  107-139,  and  Solomon's  Temple,  pp.  215, 
216.)  This  tablet  contains  a  table  of  time  and  of  distances.  The  unit  of  time  in  Babylonia  was  a 
kaskal-gid.  An  astronomical  tablet  published  thirty  years  ago  in  the  book  most  widely  used  by 
beginners  in  Assyrian  says  that  at  the  equinox  “six  kaskal-gid  was  the  day,  six  kaskal-gid  the  night.” 
The  kaskal-gid  was,  then,  a  period  of  two  hours’  duration.  Just  as  in  many  countries  the  word  for 
“hour”  is  used  for  distance,  and  a  place  is  said  to  be  so  many  “hours”  away,  so  in  Babylonia  and 
Assyria  kaskal-gid  was  used  as  a  measure  of  distance.  The  tablet  referred  to  gives  a  table  of  the 
ways  of  writing  fractions  of  kaskal-gid  and  its  other  divisions  in  the  simplest  of  the  two  Babylonian 
numerical  systems.  The  Assyriologist  learns  from  this  tablet  that  1  kaskal-gid  (the  distance  of 
two. hours)  equalled  30  ush,  that  1  ush  equalled  60  gar,  that  1  gar  equalled  12  u  or  cubits,  and  that 
1  u  equalled  60  shu  or  “fingers.”  Caldecott,  however,  mistook  the  sign  gid  for  a  numeral  five,  the 
sign  kaskal  for  a  word  meaning  “ell,”  and  the  word  u  meaning  “cubit”  for  a  sign  signifying  “plus”! 
He  accordingly  makes  gar  a  “palm”;  shu,  a  “three-palm  ell”;  ush,  a  “four-palm  ell,”  and  kaskal-gid, 
a  “five-palm  ell”!  His  whole  system  is  without  foundation. 

Tables  similar  to  the  one  published  by  Rawlinson  were  compiled  in  the  scribal  school  at  Nippur. 
One  was  published  without  translation  by  Hilprecht  in  1906  in  the  Babylonian  Expedition  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  Vol.  XX,  and  interpreted  by  the  present  writer  in  1909  in  The  Haverford 
Library  Collection  of  Cuneiform  Tablets,  Part  II,  pp.  13-18.  The  writer  has  examined  other  similar 
tablets  in  the  University  Museum,  Philadelphia. 

2  See  Chapter  IX,  p.  151.  According  to  1  Kings  7  :  48,  there  was  a  “golden  altar”  here  also, 
but  as  this  is  not  mentioned  in  chapter  6  many  scholars  think  that  it  is  a  post-exilic  gloss,  in¬ 
troducing  a  feature  from  the  second  temple. 


JERUSALEM 


195 


6  : 4)  can  have  admitted  only  an  uncertain  light.  The  building 
was  richly  adorned  with  cedar  and  gold.  It  consisted  of  three 
stories,  and  the  walls  were  of  varying  thickness,  since  ]  edges  were 
built  in  them  to  receive  the  beams  of  the  different  stories.  Each 
story  contained  a  series  of  chambers  for  storage  or  the  use  of  the 
priests.  Those  of  the  first  story  were  five  cubits  wide,  those  of  the 
second  six,  and  those  of  the  third  seven;  (see  Figs.  247-249). 

In  front  of  the  temple  was  a  porch  of  unknown  height,  and  before 
this  were  two  bronze  pillars  with  ornamented  tops,  named  Jachin 
and  Boaz.  A  little  to  the  southeast  of  the  temple  in  the  open  air 
was  a  brazen  laver  supported  by  twelve  brazen  oxen  (1  Kings 

7  :  23-26,  39).  Before  the  temple  Solomon  also  placed  a  brazen 
altar  (2  Chron.  1  :  5,  6;  2  Kings  16  :  14).  Another  article  of  temple 
furniture  is  described  as  a  “base.”  It  was  apparently  a  portable 
holder  for  a  laver.  It  was  made  of  bronze,  provided  with  wheels, 
and  ornamented  with  figures  of  lions,  cherubim,  and  palm-trees 
1  Kings  7  : 27-37);  (see  Figs.  251,  252). 

It  is  clear  that  the  temple  was  not,  like  a  modern  church,  intended 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  people.  It  was  simply  Jehovah’s 
dwelling.  Hither  the  priests  might  come  to  bring  the  offerings 
of  the  people,  and  to  propitiate  him.  Solomon  surrounded  the 
temple  with  a  court  enclosed  by  a  wall  of  three  courses  of  hewn 
stones  and  cedar  beams  (1  Kings  6  :  36).  This  court  became  in 
later  time  the  auditorium  of  the  nation.  Outside  of  this  was 
a  larger  court  with  walls  of  similar  construction  (1  Kings  7  :  12) ; 
(see  Fig.  243). 

(3)  Solomon’s  Palace. — Just  to  the  south  of  the  temple  court, 
separated  from  it  only  by  a  wall,  was  a  middle  court  in  which  was 
Solomon’s  own  palace  and  the  palace  of  Pharaoh’s  daughter  (1 
Kings  7:8).  These  palaces  were  a  little  lower  down  the  hill  than 
the  temple,  and  Solomon  had  a  private  “ascent”  by  which  he  could 
go  up  into  the  temple  (1  Kings  10  :  5).  The  royal  palaces  were  so 
near  that  a  shout  in  the  court  around  the  altar  could  be  heard  in  the 
palace  (2  Kings  1 1  :  12, 13) .  These  palaces  were  built  of  hewn  stone 
and  cedar.  South  of  this  court  was  still  another,  separated  from  it 
by  a  wall.  In  this  most  southerly  and  lowest  of  the  courts  stood  the 
hall  of  state,  in  which  was  the  throne  room,  where  Solomon  sat  in 
judgment.  This  hall  was  paneled  with  cedar  from  floor  to  roof. 
The  throne  was  of  ivory,  was  approached  by  six  steps,  and  flanked 
on  each  side  by  lions  (1  Kings  10  :  18-20).  South  of  this  and 


196 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


probably  intended  as  its  vestibule  was  the  “porch  of  pillars,”  86  by 
52  feet  (1  Kings  7:6).  Still  south  of  this  stood  the  “house  of  the 
forest  of  Lebanon”  (1  Kings  7  :  2),  so  called  because  its  four  rows  of 
cedar  pillars  were  poetically  suggestive  of  a  Lebanon  forest.  This 
was  the  largest  of  all  the  buildings,  being  172  feet  long,  86  feet  wide, 
and  52  feet  high.  There  seem  to  have  been  two  stories,  the  upper¬ 
most  of  which  was  supported  by  45  pillars  in  three  rows.  Josephus 
says  that  the  upper  room  of  this  hall  was  designed  to  “contain  a 
great  body  of  men,  who  would  come  together  to  have  their  causes 
determined.”1  He  may  have  been  influenced,  however,  in  making 
the  statement  by  the  customs  of  his  own  time. 

As  one  went  northward,  then,  up  the  hill  from  the  “city  of 
David,”  he  passed  through  a  gateway  into  the  large  court.  In  this 
court  he  came  first  to  the  “house  of  the  forest  of  Lebanon.”  Be¬ 
yond  this  he  would  enter  through  the  “porch  of  pillars”  into  the 
splendid  hall  of  judgment  with  its  imposing  throne.  If  he  were  a 
favored  servant  or  an  honored  guest  of  the  king,  he  might  be  ad¬ 
mitted  to  the  inner  court,  in  which  case  he  would  behold  the  im¬ 
posing  palaces  of  Solomon  and  his  principal  queen.  A  passageway 
to  the  eastward  of  this  more  private  court  led  the  person  not  so 
favored  to  the  sacred  court  about  the  temple. 

In  the  construction  of  these  buildings  Solomon  employed  Phoe¬ 
nician  architects  and  workmen.  His  buildings  were,  therefore, 
more  imposing  than  those  ordinarily  erected  in  Palestine.  The 
Phoenicians  were  the  intermediaries  of  the  ancient  world,  and 
were  the  recipients  of  influences  from  Babylonia,  Egypt,  the 
Hittites,  Cyprus,  and  the  Mycenean  world.  Through  them  some¬ 
thing  of  the  world’s  architectural  culture  touched  the  buildings  of 
Solomon. 

8.  From  Solomon  to  Hezekiah. — Between  the  time  of  Solomon 
and  Hezekiah,  the  Bible  furnishes  us  with  but  little  information 
about  Jerusalem.  One  topographical  fact  is  given  us  in  the 
narrative  of  the  war  between  Amaziah  of  Judah  and  Jehoash  of 
Israel,  before  782  b.  c.  After  Jehoash  had  been  victorious  in  the 
battle  at  Beth-shemesh,  he  came  up  to  Jerusalem  and  “brake  down 
the  wall  of  Jerusalem  from  the  gate  of  Ephraim  unto  the  corner 
gate,  four  hundred  cubits”  (2  Kings  14  :  13);  (see  Fig.  304). 
This  wall  was  afterward  repaired  by  Uzziah,  who  strengthened  it 
with  towers. 


1  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  VIII,  v,  2. 


JERUSALEM 


197 


Indeed,  it  seems  probable  that  Uzziah’s  work  was  more  extensive 
and  that,  in  order  to  render  the  city  more  impregnable,  he  added  a 
second  wall  on  the  north.  Certainly  a  wall  existed  here  before  the 
Exile,  for  when  Nehemiah  rebuilt  the  walls,  this  wall  joined  the 
temple  area  at  its  northwest  corner,  and  we  know  of  no  king  after 
Uzziah  who  would  be  likely  to  construct  such  a  defence  unless  it  was 
Hezekiah.  As  the  city  easily  withstood  the  attack  of  Pekah  and 
Rezin  in  735  (Isa.  7  :  1,  ff.),  it  seems  probable  that  Uzziah  was  the 
builder. 

This  wall  by  whomsoever  it  was  built  was  in  all  probability  on 
the  line  of  the  so-called  “second  wall”  of  Josephus.  As  to  just  what 
its  course  was  we  cannot  now  tell,  further  than  that  it  started  from 
near  the  Corner  Gate,  near  where  the  modern  Turkish  fortress  now 
stands,  and  terminated  at  the  temple  area.  Some  have  supposed 
that  after  leaving  the  Corner  Gate  it  ran  as  far  northward  as  the 
line  on  which  the  northern  wall  of  the  modern  city  runs,  then  east¬ 
ward  from  there  to  a  point  near  the  present  Damascus  Gate,  and 
then  turned  southward  to  the  temple  area.  This  seems  improbable, 
however,  since  in  the  time  of  Zechariah  the  tower  of  Hananel,  which 
stood  near  the  northwest  corner  of  the  present  area  of  the  Mosque  of 
Omar,  was  the  most  northerly  point  of  the  city.  It  is  thus  pos¬ 
sible  that  this  second  wall  may  have  run  south  of  the  site  of  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher.  Its  whole  course  accordingly  lies 
underneath  the  present  city.  None  of  this  has  been  excavated  ex¬ 
cept  a  short  part  of  the  course  near  the  ancient  Corner  Gate.  In 
1885,  when  digging  was  in  progress  for  the  foundations  of  the  Grand 
New  Hotel,  just  inside  the  Jaffa  Gate  and  north  of  the  Turkish 
fortress,  a  course  of  large  Jewish  stones  was  laid  bare  which  the  late 
Dr.  Merrill  and  others  believed  to  be  a  part  of  this  second  wall. 
The  nature  of  the  digging  did  not,  however,  disclose  its  course 
for  any  great  distance;  the  part  revealed  ran  nearly  north  and 
south. 

Unless  Solomon  built  the  wall  which  ran  from  Maudsley’s  scarp 
at  the  northwest  corner  of  the  western  hill  eastward  down  the  slope 
of  that  hill  to  the  southern  point  of  the  eastern  hill,  it  must  have 
been  built  by  some  king  of  this  period.  No  hint  is  given  us  as  to 
who  built  this  wall.  It  may  have  been  done  in  the  reign  of  Jehosha- 
phat,  which  was  a  period  of  prosperity  and  expansion  (2  Kings 
3  :  4-12),  or  in  the  reign  of  Uzziah,  which  was  also  a  very  prosperous 
time.  The  need  of  stronger  defenses  created  by  the  advance  of 


198 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


the  Assyrians  into  western  Asia  in  the  ninth  and  eighth  centuries 
b.  c.  makes  it  probable  that  Uzziah  was  the  builder.  At  all  events 
it  was  accomplished  by  the  time  of  Hezekiah. 

In  the  reign  of  Ahaz  there  was  a  conduit  (Isa.  7  :  3)  leading  from 
the  “upper  pool,”  or  Gihon,  to  a  lower  pool,  which  probably  lay 
somewhere  near  the  mouth  of  the  Tyropceon  valley.  This  conduit 
has  been  discovered.  It  was  designed  partly  to  conduct  water 
from  Gihon  out  into  the  valley  of  the  Kidron  for  the  irrigation  of  the 
king’s  gardens,  and  partly  to  fill  the  lower  pool  so  that  cattle  could 
come  and  drink.  Isaiah  refers  to  the  waters  of  this  conduit  as 
“the  waters  of  Shiloah  that  go  softly”  (Isa.  8:6).  Of  course,  this 
conduit  was  in  Isaiah’s  time  an  old  one.  It  is  impossible  to 
tell  when  it  was  first  constructed.  It  may  have  been  made  as 
early  as  the  time  of  Solomon  or  David,  or  even  in  Jebusite 
times. 

In  the  reign  of  Ahaz  a  change  was  made  in  the  nature  of  the  altar 
of  burnt-offerings  in  the  temple.  When  Ahaz  went  to  Damascus  to 
do  homage  to  Tiglath-pileser  IV  of  Assyria,  he  saw  an  altar  that 
pleased  him,  and  sent  a  pattern  of  it  home  to  the  high  priest,  Urijah, 
with  directions  to  have  one  made  like  it  for  the  temple.  This 
Urijah  did.  This  altar  was  apparently  constructed  of  stone. 
It  displaced  the  brazen  altar  of  Solomon,  which  was  hence¬ 
forth  kept  for  the  king’s  private  use  (2  Kings  16  :  10-16).  It 
is  thought  by  some  that  the  measurements  of  this  stone  altar 
are  reproduced  in  Ezekiel  43  :  13-17.  The  brazen  altar  had 
always  been  out  of  accord  with  the  Hebrew  law.  (See  Exod. 
20  :  24-26.) 

9.  Hezekiah. — Apart  from  his  reform  (2  Kings  18  :  1-6)  and  the 
invasions  of  Sennacherib  (2  Kings  18  :  9,  ff.),  the  event  of  especial 
interest  mentioned  in  connection  with  Hezekiah  is  that  “he  made  the 
pool  and  the  conduit  and  brought  the  water  into  the  city”  (2  Kings 
20  :  20).  Scholars  are  agreed  that  this  refers  to  the  rock-cut  aque¬ 
duct  in  which  the  Siloam  inscription  was  found.1  This  was  for  the 
time  of  its  construction  a  notable  engineering  achievement,  though 
recent  exploration  of  the  tunnel  shows  that  the  workers  frequently 
went  astray  and  cut  in  directions  that  they  did  not  intend.  Indeed, 
it  is  probable  that  the  great  bends  in  the  tunnel  were  made  on  ac¬ 
count  of  such  mistakes  and  not  as  Clermont-Ganneau  formerly 
thought  in  order  to  avoid  the  tombs  of  the  kings.  Up  to  the  pres- 

1  See  translation,  Part  II,  p.  377. 


JERUSALEM 


199 


ent,  search  for  these  tombs  has  been  vain.  They  must  have  been 
somewhere  on  the  eastern  hill,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that 
they  were  at  the  great  depth  at  which  this  tunnel  was  cut  through 
the  rock. 

If  the  supposition  made  above  as  to  the  walls  of  Uzziah  is  cor¬ 
rect,  it  was  Hezekiah  who  built  the  first  wall  across  the  mouth  of 
the  Tyropoeon  valley  so  as  to  enclose  within  the  city  his  new  pool. 
This  wall  was  found  by  Bliss.  It  formed  the  dam  of  the  pool.  It 
was  strongly  buttressed  and  had  been  rebuilt  from  time  to  time. 
Bliss  detected  five  periods  in  its  history.1 

10.  From  Hezekiah  to  the  Exile. — After  Hezekiah,  the  general 
features  of  Jerusalem  remained  the  same  down  to  the  time  of  the 
Babylonian  Exile  in  586  b.  c.  We  hear  of  a  Fish  Gate,  probably 
where  it  was  at  a  later  time,  at  the  north  of  the  city  in  the  wall  built 
by  Uzziah.  Zephaniah  mentions  in  connection  with  it  “the  second 
quarter”  of  the  city  (Zeph.  1  :  10),  which  was  probably  the  part  of 
the  town  between  the  north  wall  of  Uzziah  and  the  older  north  wall 
of  Solomon  on  the  western  hill.  The  prophetess  Huldah  lived  there 
in  the  time  of  Josiah  (2  Kings  22  :  14).  Zephaniah  also  mentions 
a  part  of  the  city  called  Maktesh  or  the  Mortar  (Zeph.  1  :  11). 
This  was  a  part  of  Jerusalem  occupied  by  Phoenician  traders  and 
craftsmen.  It  was  probably  in  the  hollow  between  the  two  hills, 
i.  e.,  in  the  Tyropoeon  valley. 

In  the  reign  of  Manasseh  we  hear  of  the  sacrifice  of  children. 
For  this  purpose  a  pit  was  excavated  on  the  floor  of  the  valley  of 
Hinnom,  to  the  south  of  the  city,  and  arrangements  were  made  to 
burn  the  victims.  This  was  called  Topheth  (Jer.  7  :  31).  Later  it 
was  defiled  (2  Kings  23  :  10),  and  to  perpetuate  the  defilement  re¬ 
fuse  from  the  city  seems  to  have  been  burned  there.  The  valley  of 
Hinnom  is  in  Hebrew  gai  hinnom.  Later  generations  conceived 
that  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  had  also  its  valley  of  Hinnom  for  the 
consumption  of  its  refuse,  hence  gai  hinnom  is  used  in  the  New 
Testament  in  the  form  Gehenna  as  a  name  of  hell.  (See  Matt. 
5  :  29;  10  :  28.) 

11.  The  Destruction  of  586  B.  c. — Toward  the  end  of  the  siege  of 
Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadrezzar  in  the  year  586  it  is  said  that  the  men 
of  war  fled  by  the  way  of  the  gate  between  the  two  walls  which  was 
by  the  king’s  garden  (2  Kings  25  :  4) .  This  was  evidently  a  gate 
by  the  Pool  of  Siloam,  where  the  two  walls  of  the  eastern  hill  and 

1  See  Bliss,  Excavations  at  Jerusalem,  pp.  96-109. 


200 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


the  wall  which  came  down  the  western  hill  and  crossed  the  mouth 
of  the  Tyropceon  valley  all  came  together.1 

In  August  of  the  year  586  b.  c.  Jerusalem  was  destroyed  by 
Nebuchadrezzar.  The  temple,  the  royal  palace,  and  the  residences 
of  the  principal  men  were  burned  and  the  walls  of  the  city  were 
broken  down  (2  Kings  25  : 9,  10).  All  that  was  combustible  was 
burned,  including  the  city  gates  (Neh.  1  :  3).  All  portable  things 
of  value  were  carried  away.  Jerusalem  now  entered  on  a  period  of 
desolation.  The  city  was  probably  not  entirely  deserted.  Some  of 
the  poor  who  still  managed  to  extract  a  subsistence  from  the  desolate 
hills  still  found  shelter  in  her  ruins.  All  the  well-to-do  inhabitants 
were  transported  to  Babylonia. 

It  is  often  assumed  that  the  site  of  the  temple  was  unused  during 
the  Exile  and  that  no  offerings  were  made  there,  but  Jer.  41  :  4,  5 
shows  that  this  was  not  the  case.  Probably  an  altar  was  repaired 
very  soon,  and  the  poor  people  still  went  through  their  most  indis¬ 
pensable  religious  ceremonies  amid  the  desolation,  for  men  came 
from  Samaria  two  months  after  the  destruction  of  the  city  to  cele¬ 
brate  there  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles. 

This  destruction  of  the  city  and  the  deportation  of  its  population 
made  a  very  deep  impression  on  the  Jews.  How  their  affections 
clung  to  the  desolate  and  defaced  city  is  touchingly  depicted  in  the 
book  of  Lamentations  and  in  the  137th  Psalm.  Indeed,  the  de¬ 
struction  of  the  real  Jerusalem  was  the  beginning  of  that  ideal 
Jerusalem  which  has  been  so  influential  in  the  religious  history  of 
the  world.2 

12.  The  Second  Temple. — Beyond  the  erection  of  an  altar,  al¬ 
ready  mentioned,  the  first  steps  toward  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple 
were  taken,  so  many  scholars  think,  in  the  second  year  of  King 
Darius  of  Persia,  i.  e.,  in  520  b.  c.  Eighteen  years  earlier  Cyrus  had 
made  it  possible  for  this  to  be  done,3  but  for  various  reasons  it  had 
not  been  undertaken.4  The  man  whose  preaching  moved  the  people 
to  begin  the  rebuilding  was  Haggai,  and  the  circumstances  under 
which  he  did  it  are  recounted  in  his  book.  Haggai’s  persuasion 
was  later  seconded  by  the  efforts  of  Zechariah.  Through  four 

1  See  G.  A.  Smith,  Jerusalem,  I,  226.  For  another  view,  see  Paton,  Journal  of  Biblical  Litera¬ 
ture,  XXV,  1-13. 

2  See  G.  A.  Smith,  Jerusalem,  II,  Chapters  X  and  XI. 

3  See  Chapter  II,  p.  66;  also  Part  II,  p.  385,  f. 

4  Ezra  5:16  states  that  Sheshbazzar  laid  the  foundations  of  the  house  in  the  reign  of  Cyrus,  but 
as  Haggai  and  Zechariah  give  no  hint  of  this,  many  scholars  think  there  must  be  some  error  in  the 
text. 


JERUSALEM 


201 


years  the  house  slowly  rose,  and  was  finally  completed  in  March  of 
the  sixth  year  of  Darius  (516  b.  c.),  five  months  less  than  70  years 
after  it  was  destroyed. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  second  temple  was  built  on  the 
lines  of  the  first,  which  were  probably  still  traceable  in  the  debris. 
It  was  also  constructed  of  stone  which  still  lay  about  the  top  of  the 
hill — stone  that  had  been  used  in  the  work  of  Solomon.  It  was  not 
because  it  was  smaller  than  the  first  temple  that  old  men  who  had 
seen  that  wept  as  they  looked  on  the  new  one  (Ezra  3  :  12),  but 
because  it  was  less  ornate.  It  was  probably  without  ornament. 
Josephus  ( Contra  Apion,  i,  22)  says  that  the  temple  court  was  en¬ 
closed  by  a  wall  a  plethra  in  length  and  100  Greek  cubits  in  breadth, 
i.  e .,  485i  by  145§  feet.  It  was  not,  then,  very  large.  It  is  un¬ 
certain  whether  there  was  at  this  time  more  than  one  court;  1 
Macc.  4  :  48  speaks  of  “courts,”  but  Josephus  tells1  how  the  people 
pelted  Alexander  Jannaeus  with  citrons  while  he  was  officiating  at 
the  altar  during  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  so  that  it  is  probable 
that  the  courts  were  not  separated  by  a  wall,  but  by  a  difference 
of  elevation.  The  inner  court  was  probably  higher  than  the  other, 
as  it  is  around  the  Mosque  of  Omar  today. 

Within  this  court  was  an  altar  of  unhewn  stones.  The  temple 
itself  consisted  as  before  of  the  holy  place  and  the  holy  of  holies. 
Before  the  holy  place  was  a  porch,  and  around  the  building  there 
were  many  small  chambers  as  formerly.  The  holy  of  holies  was 
separated  from  the  holy  place  by  a  veil  (1  Macc.  1  :  22),  but  now  it 
contained  no  ark  of  the  covenant,  as  that  had  been  lost  in  586  b.  c. 
The  holy  of  holies  in  the  second  temple  was  empty  except  for  the 
“stone  of  foundation”  on  which  the  high  priest  placed  his  censer  on 
the  day  of  atonement.2  In  the  holy  place  the  table  of  show-bread 
stood  in  front  of  the  veil.  Instead  of  the  ten  golden  lamp-stands  of 
Solomon’s  temple  there  now  stood  there  the  lamp  with  seven 
branches  (see  Zech.  4).  A  golden  altar  of  incense  replaced  it 
(1  Macc.  1  :  21)  in  the  time  of  the  Maccabees,  though  it  may  not 
have  been  placed  there  before  the  time  of  Ezra. 

Such  was  the  temple  as  reconstructed  after  the  Exile.  In  one 
important  respect  its  perspective  was  changed.  The  royal  palace 
and  the  administrative  buildings,  which  before  the  Exile  had  shared 
the  crest  of  the  northern  spur  of  Zion  with  the  temple,  were  not 


1  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  XIII,  xiii,  5. 
*  See  the  Mishnah,  Middoth  3  :  6. 


202 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


rebuilt.  The  temple  stood  there  alone.  Little  by  little  the  part  of 
the  hill  to  the  south  of  the  temple  was  cleared  of  the  debris  and  the 
ground  became  a  temple  court.  This  was  significant  of  the  religious 
condition  of  the  post-exilic  time.  Kings  had  vanished;  the  worship 
of  Jehovah  held  the  supreme  place  in  the  thought  of  the  people. 

13.  Nehemiah  and  the  Walls. — For  seventy-two  years  after  the 
temple  was  rebuilt,  the  walls  of  the  city  still  lay  in  ruins.  That  they 
were  at  last  restored  was  due  to  the  patriotism  and  energy  of  a  noble 
young  Jew,  Nehemiah,  who  had  been  a  cup-bearer  to  Artaxerxes 
I  of  Persia.  The  story  of  how  he  obtained  the  royal  permission  to 
return  to  Jerusalem  as  governor,  with  authority  to  rebuild  the  walls, 
how  upon  his  arrival  he  traced  by  their  ruins  the  lines  of  the  old 
walls,  with  what  energy  and  amid  what  difficulties  he  pushed  their 
rebuilding  to  completion  in  the  course  of  three  months  in  the  year 
444  b.  c.,  is  told  in  detail  in  Nehemiah  1-7  and  need  not  be  repeated 
here. 

At  the  northwest  corner  of  the  western  hill  there  was  placed  in 
the  wall  at  this  time  a  gate  called  the  Valley  Gate  (Neh.  3  :  13). 
This  was  the  gate  discovered  by  Bliss1  a  little  to  the  east  of  the  old 
fortress  on  Maudsley’s  scarp.  When  the  wall  was  completed,  a 
ceremony  of  dedication  was  held.  At  this  festival  two  processions 
started  from  this  Valley  Gate;  one  of  these  went  around  the  south 
side  of  the  city,  the  other  around  the  north  side  (Neh.  12  :  31-40). 
They  met  at  the  temple.  The  procession  that  went  around  the 
south  side  of  the  city  passed  by  the  Dung  Gate,  which  was  situated 
in  the  southern  wall  well  down  the  hill,  then  by  the  Fountain  Gate, 
near  the  Pool  of  Siloam,  then  up  the  “ascent  of  the  wall”  by  the 
stairs  of  the  “City  of  David,”  and  passed  the  Water  Gate  somewhere 
above  the  spring  of  Gihon.  Still  above  this,  probably  just  to  the 
east  of  the  temple  area,  was  the  Horse  Gate  (Neh.  3  :  28) .  The  other 
company,  starting  from  the  Valley  Gate  at  the  southwest  corner  of 
the  city,  passed  northward  by  the  “Tower  of  the  Furnaces”  unto 
the  broad  wall,  above' the  Gate  of  Ephraim,  by  the  Old  Gate,  and 
by  the  Fish  Gate,  past  the  Tower  of  Hananel  and  the  Tower  of 
Hammeah,  unto  the  Sheep  Gate.  This  description,  together  with 
the  line  of  the  previous  wall,  enables  us  approximately  to  deter¬ 
mine  the  outline  of  post-exilic  Jerusalem;  (see  Fig.  305).  The  one 
point  of  doubt  has  to  do  with  the  line  of  the  second  wall  on  the  north 
of  the  city,  laid  out  probably  by  Uzziah.  As  that  line  is  directly 

1  Excavations  at  Jerusalem,  16,  ff. 


JERUSALEM 


203 


under  the  present  city  it  has  never  been  possible  to  follow  it  by  ex¬ 
cavations.  We  can  only  conjecture  what  its  course  may  have  been. 
The  towers  of  Hananel  and  Hammeah  were  clearly  north  of  the 
temple  area.  They  probably  fortified  the  wall  along  the  edge  of  a 
shallow  valley  which  separated  Moriah  from  the  hill  north  of  it. 
This  hill  was  later  called  Bezetha. 

14.  Late  Persian  and  Early  Greek  Periods. — After  the  time  of 
Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  we  have  no  clear  topographical  references  to 
Jerusalem  until  the  second  century  b.  c.  It  seems  probable  that 
Jerusalem  and  Judah  rebelled  against  one  of  the  later  Persian  kings 
and  that  the  city  suffered.1  We  hear  that  Ptolemy  I  of  Egypt  also 
captured  Jerusalem,2  but  whether  these  experiences  led  to  any 
modification  in  the  form  of  the  city,  we  do  not  know.  The  Wisdom 
of  Jesus ,  the  Son  of  Sirach,  often  called  Ecclesiasticus ,  which  was 
written  about  180  b.  c.,  indicates  that  Jerusalem  was  a  carefully 
organized  city.  Many  professions  and  much  commerce  were  rep¬ 
resented  in  it,  as  well  as  many  human  sins  and  foibles.3  The  author 
declares4  that  a  high  priest,  Simon,  the  son  of  Onias  (probably 
Simon  II,  218-198  b.  c.),  repaired  the  temple  and  fortified  the 
city.  What  the  nature  of  either  work  was,  we  do  not  know.  So 
far  as  can  be  ascertained,  he  confined  himself  to  the  strengthening 
of  old  defenses,  and  did  not  change  the  topography. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  reign  of  Antiochus  IV,  while  many  Jews 
were  kindly  inclined  to  Greek  culture  and  to  Greek  ways,  an  out¬ 
door  gymnasium  was  established  in  Jerusalem.5  This  was  in  a 
hollow  just  above  the  Tyropoeon  valley  to  the  west  of  the  south  end 
of  the  temple  enclosure.6  Josephus  calls  it  the  Xystus,  a  Greek 
name  that  reveals  its  character.  Some  reminder  that  it  was  once  a 
gymnasium  perhaps  lingers  in  Maidan ,  the  modern  Arabic  name  for 
the  locality,  which  means  hippodrome,  or  place  of  combat. 

15.  In  the  Time  of  the  Maccabees. — In  the  Maccabsean  period 
the  city  was  divided  into  three  parts — the  city  proper,  the  temple, 
and  the  Akra  or  citadel.  As  to  the  situation  of  the  Akra,  there  is 
a  wide  difference  of  opinion.  Into  the  different  theories  it  is 
impossible  to  go.7  The  writer  agrees  with  George  Adam  Smith, 

1  See  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  XI,  vii,  1;  cf.  also  G.  A.  Smith,  Jerusalem,  II,  358-361. 

2  See  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  XII,  i. 

3  See  Ecclesiasticus  iii-v,  vii,  ix,  xxiii,  xxv,  ff.,  and  xxviii. 

4  See  Eccles.  50  :  1-4. 

6  Cf.  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews ,  XII,  v,  1. 

6  See  Selah  Merrill,  Ancient  Jerusalem,  New  York,  1908,  pp.  83-88. 

7  See  G.  A.  Smith,  Jerusalem,  II,  447-452. 


204 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


that  in  all  probability  the  Akra  was  the  “City  of  David”  of  the 
earlier  time,  as  1  Maccabees  states  (1  :  33;  7  : 32,  33;  14  :  36). 
We  first  hear  of  this  Akra  in  198  b.  c.,  when  an  Egyptian  garrison 
held  out  in  it  against  Antiochus  III.1  It  was  so  shut  off  from  the 
rest  of  Jerusalem  that,  though,  after  the  onslaught  of  Antiochus  IV 
on  the  Jews  in  168  b.  c.,  Judas  Maccabseus  recovered  the  city  and 
temple  as  early  as  165  b.  c.,  the  Syrians  kept  possession  of  the 
Akra  for  twenty-three  years  more,  until  they  were  finally  dislodged 
by  Simon  the  Maccabee  in  142  b.  c.2 

16.  Asmonaean  Jerusalem. — During  the  Asmonaean  dynasty 
which  grew  out  of  the  Maccabaean  struggle,3  three  new  features 
were  added  to  Jerusalem.  One  was  a  castle,  to  the  northward  of 
the  temple  area  built  by  John  Hyrcanus  I,  135-105  b.  c.4  This 
was  known  to  Greek- speaking  Jews  as  Baris,  which  is  a  corruption 
of  the  Hebrew  Birah ,  a  fortress.  Its  walls  are  massive  and  high. 
It  commanded  the  approach  to  the  temple  area  from  the  north,  and 
greatly  strengthened  the  effectiveness  of  the  temple  fortification. 

One  of  the  Asmonaeans,  probably  John  Hyrcanus  I,  built  a  palace 
in  Jerusalem.5  This  palace  apparently  stood  on  the  site  now  occu¬ 
pied  by  the  Synagogue  of  the  German  Jews  in  Jerusalem.6  It  was 
connected  with  the  temple  area  by  a  bridge,7  of  which  a  remnant  of 
the  easternmost  span,  now  called  “Robinson’s  Arch,”8  is  still  visi¬ 
ble  on  the  western  wall  of  the  temple  enclosure.  This  bridge  was 
destroyed  by  Pompey  when  he  captured  Jerusalem  in  63  b.  c.,9  and 
its  remains  were  found  by  Warren  in  the  bottom  of  the  Tyropceon 
valley,  80  feet  below  the  present  surface  of  the  ground.10  As  the 
Asmonaeans  were  high  priests  as  well  as  kings,  this  bridge  gave  them 
easy  access  to  the  temple  from  their  palace.  The  palace  itself, 
situated  on  a  part  of  the  western  hill  that  overtopped  the  temple 
hill,  was  so  placed  that  the  royal  priest  could  sit  in  his  palace  and 
watch  what  was  transpiring  in  the  temple  courts  and  in  the  valley 
below. 

1  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  XII,  v,  1. 

2  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  XIII,  vi,  7. 

3  See  Chapter  V,  p.  119. 

*  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  XV,  xi,  4;  XVIII,  iv,  3. 

6  Josephus,  Antiquites  of  the  Jews,  XX,  viii,  11;  Wars  of  the  Jews,  II,  xvi,  3. 

6  Merrill,  Ancient  Jerusalem,  p.  88. 

7  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  XIV,  iv,  2,  and  Fig.  255. 

8  Because  its  identity  as  a  part  of  this  bridge  was  first  perceived  by  Prof.  Edward  Robinson,  of 
Union  Seminary,  New  York. 

*  Josephus,  Wars  of  the  Jews,  I,  vii,  2. 

10  Warren  and  Conder,  Jerusalem,  178,  f. 


JERUSALEM 


205 


The  third  accomplishment  of  the  Asmonaeans  was  probably  the 
construction  of  Solomon’s  Pools  and  the  High  Level  Aqueduct  by 
which  the  water  was  brought  into  Jerusalem.1  This  work  appears 
also  to  have  been  accomplished  by  John  Hyrcanus  I,  for  Timarchus, 
the  biographer  of  Antiochus  VII,  who  was  a  contemporary  of 
Hyrcanus  I,  says  of  Jerusalem  that  ‘The  whole  city  runs  down  with 
waters,  so  that  even  the  gardens  are  irrigated  by  the  water  which 
flows  off  from  it.”2  Such  a  description  would  be  quite  unfitting,  if 
all  the  water  had  been  supplied  by  Gihon,  En-rogel,  and  the  cisterns 
about  Jerusalem.  It  implies  that  a  perpetual  stream  of  water, 
such  as  came  through  one  of  the  aqueducts,  flowed  into  the  city. 

One  other  structure  is  attributed  to  an  Asmonasan.  Alexander 
Jannaeus  was  very  unpopular  with  the  Pharisees,  and  once,  as 
already  noted,  he  was  pelted  by  the  people  with  citrons.  He 
thereupon  erected  a  wooden  barrier  around  the  temple  and  the 
altar,  thus  excluding  the  laity  from  a  close  approach  to  the  temple,3 
and  creating  a  court  for  the  priests  alone. 

Jerusalem  suffered  from  four  sieges  in  the  troublous  days  when 
the  Asmonaean  power  was  waning  and  that  of  Rome  was  being  es¬ 
tablished.  The  first  was  by  Haretat,  King  of  the  Nabathaeans,  in 
65  b.  c.,  but  was  lifted  without  result.4  The  second  was  that  of 
Pompey  in  63  b.  c.  It  resulted  in  the  capture  of  the  city  and 
in  considerable  damage.  The  bridge  across  the  Tyropoeon  to  the 
royal  palace  was  broken  down.5  The  third  was  that  of  the  Par- 
thians  in  40  b.  c.,  when  they  captured  the  city  and  placed  Anti- 
gonus,  son  of  Aristobulus  II,  on  the  throne.6  The  fourth  was  that 
by  which  Herod  the  Great  became  master  of  Jerusalem  in  37  b.  c. 
At  this  time  a  part  of  the  two  northern  walls  were  broken  down.7 
The  topography  of  the  city  was  in  no  way  changed  until  after  the 
conquest  by  Herod,  who  changed  the  face  of  Jerusalem  in  many 
ways. 

17.  Herod  the  Great. — The  first  work  of  Herod  was  to  rebuild 
and  strengthen  the  fortress  to  the  north  of  the  temple.  This  he 
did  at  the  beginning  of  his  reign  while  Mark  Antony  was  still  in 
power  in  the  East.  He  accordingly  renamed  the  castle  Antonia.8 


1  See  Chapter  VI,  p.  131. 

2  Quoted  by  Alexander  Polyhistor  and  Eusebius;  see  G.  A.  Smith,  Jerusalem,  II,  462. 

3  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  XIII,  xiii,  5. 

4  Ibid.,  XIV,  ii,  1. 

s  Ibid.,  XIV,  iv,  2.  e  Ibid.,  XIV,  xiii,  3,  4,  5. 

7  Ibid.,  XIV,  xv,  2;  xvi.  8  ibid.,  XV,  viii,  5. 


206 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Herod  also  rebuilt  and  strengthened  the  walls  which  he  had  bat¬ 
tered  down  in  taking  Jerusalem,  adding  towers  to  make  them  more 
impregnable.  At  the  southwest  corner  of  the  city  he  erected  three 
new  towers, — Hippacus,  Phasael,  and  Mariamne.1  These  all  prob¬ 
ably  stood  in  or  near  the  space  now  covered  by  the  T urkish  fortress 
at  the  Jaffa  Gate.  Hippacus  was  apparently  the  northwest  tower 
of  the  present  citadel,  Phasael  the  easternmost  of  the  towers  in  the 
same  structure,  which  still  bears  the  name  “Tower  of  David”; 
Mariamne  lay  to  the  east  of  these.  Hippacus  was  80  cubits  high, 
Phasael  90,  and  Mariamne  50.  On  the  north  of  these,  perhaps  near 
the  point  where  the  northwest  corner  of  the  present  city  wall  is, 
stood  Psephinus,  an  octagonal  tower  70  cubits  high. 

(1)  Herod's  Palace . — In  connection  with  the  towers  Hippacus 
and  Phasael  and  on  the  site  of  the  present  Turkish  citadel,  Herod 
built  a  new  and  splendid  royal  palace.2  Its  walls  on  the  west  and 
north  were  the  same  as  the  old  city  walls;  on  the  east  and  south, 
walls  of  the  same  massiveness  were  erected.  It  contained  two  halls, 
each  the  size  of  the  sanctuary,  with  couches  within  for  a  hundred 
guests.  There  were  many  other  richly  furnished  chambers.  The 
towers  and  the  palace  were  faced  with  marble.  Stretching  to  the 
southward,  of  the  palace  were  colonnades  which  bordered  on  open 
courts,  in  which  shrubberies,  fountains,  and  long  walks  abounded. 
These  fountains  were  fed  by  the  High  Level  Aqueduct. 

This  palace  commanded  the  highest  point  of  the  southwestern 
hill.  Its  construction  finally  transferred  the  controlling  power  to 
the  western  hill,  or  as  Josephus  calls  it,  the  “Upper  City.”  Ever 
after  this  the  western  hill  was  the  seat  of  political  power.  When 
Procurators  ruled  Judaea  this  palace  became  the  praetorium.3  It 
was  to  this  castle  that  our  Saviour  was  brought  to  be  tried  by 
Pontius  Pilate.  It  was  to  its  entrance,  probably  on  the  east,  that 
Pilate  brought  Jesus  and  offered  to  release  him,  when  the  people 
cried:  “Away  with  this  man  .  .  .  crucify  him”  (Luke  23  : 18,  21). 
This  palace,  built  by  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  unscrupulous  of  men, 
is  thus  associated  with  one  of  the  most  sacred  and  tragic  moments 
of  history.  From  that  day  to  this  it  has  remained  the  seat  of 
political  authority  in  Jerusalem.  Its  presence  on  the  western  hill 
has  gradually  drawn  the  name  Zion  from  the  original  city  of  David 


1  Josephus,  Wars  of  the  Jews,  V,  iv.  3. 
tIbid.,  V,  iv,  4.  (See  Fig.  256.) 

8  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  XVII,  ix,  3;  Wars  of  the  Jews,  II,  ii,  2;  xiv.  8. 


JERUSALEM 


207 


to  the  western  hill,  and  so  distorted  the  Old  Testament  traditions 
that  even  several  modern  scholars1  still  refuse  to  give  credence  to  the 
clear  voice  of  the  Old  Testament  as  to  the  site  of  the  original  Zion. 
The  palace,  battered  down  and  rebuilt  again  and  again,  still  retains 
in  its  walls  many  of  the  massive  stones  of  Herod.  This  palace  was 
completed  about  23  b.  c. 

(2)  Herod’s  Theater. — About  25  b.  c.  Herod  founded  an  athletic 
gathering  to  be  celebrated  every  five  years  in  honor  of  Augustus.2 
Josephus,  in  speaking  of  this  fact,  says  that  Herod  built  a  theater  in 
Jerusalem,  and  also  a  very  great  amphitheater  in  the  plain.  If  he 
actually  built  a  theater  in  the  city,  all  traces  of  it  have  disappeared. 
To  the  south  of  the  city  on  a  hill  considerably  beyond  the  Valley  of 
Hinnom,  the  remains  of  a  great  theater  were  discovered  some  years 
ago  by  the  late  Dr.  Schick.3  This  theater  faced  the  north,  its 
diameter  was  more  than  130  feet,  and  spectators  seated  in  it  could 
see  Jerusalem  in  the  distance.  It  is  thought  by  some  scholars  that 
this  is  the  theater  to  which  Josephus  alludes,  as  Herod  would  hardly 
have  ventured  to  outrage  Jewish  feeling  by  placing  such  a  structure 
in  the  sacred  city.  If  the  discovery  of  Dr.  Schick  represents 
Herod’s  theater,  it  is  quite  unknown  where  the  “amphitheater  in 
the  plain,”  to  which  Josephus  makes  reference,  was  situated. 

(3)  Herod s  Temple. — When  the  palace  of  Herod  was  com¬ 
pleted,  the  splendid  structures  of  Antonia  and  the  palace  quite 
overshadowed  the  old  dingy  temple.  The  temple  had  frequently 
been  repaired  by  the  high  priests,  and  perhaps  during  the  Macca- 
bsean  time  had  been  somewhat  embellished,  but  it  nevertheless 
remained  essentially  as  it  had  been  rebuilt  after  the  Exile.  Herod 
had  built  Sebaste  on  the  site  of  ancient  Samaria  in  27  b.  c.,  and 
began  about  22  b.  c.  to  build  Csesarea.  In  these  and  other  cities 
he  had  erected  splendid  temples  to  heathen  deities;  naturally  he 
desired  to  make  the  temple  of  his  capital  city  worthy  to  stand 
beside  them.  He  had  difficulty  in  persuading  the  Jews  to  let  him 
touch  the  sacred  house,  but  yielding  in  many  things  to  their  scruples, 
work  was  finally  begun  in  the  year  20-19  b.  c.  Some  of  the  priests 
became  carpenters  and  stone-cutters,  so  that  no  profane  hands  need 
touch  the  sacred  shrine.4  The  old  temple  was  taken  down  and  the 

1  Colonel  Cornier,  the  late  Dr.  Merrill,  Georg  Gatt,  Dr.  Riickert,  and  Dr.  Mommert. 

1  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  XV,  viii,  1. 

*  See  Quarterly  Statement  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  1887,  p.  161,  £f.  Dr.  Schick  calls 
it  an  amphitheater,  but  it  is  simply  a  theater  of  the  Greek  type. 

4  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  XV,  xi,  2. 


208 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


new  one  erected  in  the  space  of  eighteen  months.  But  much  re¬ 
mained  to  be  done  and  the  work  dragged  along  until  after  Herod’s 
death.  In  the  time  of  Christ  “forty  and  six  years  was  this  temple 
in  building”  (John  2  :  20),  and  it  was  not  then  completed.  It  was 
finished  only  in  64  a.  d.,  six  years  before  it  was  finally  destroyed.1 
The  temple  itself  occupied  the  site  of  its  predecessor,  and  was  of 
the  same  plan  and  dimensions.  These  Herod  did  not  dare  to 
change.  They  were  consecrated  by  nearly  a  thousand  years  of 
sacred  associations.  If  he  could  not  enlarge  it,  however,  he  could 
make  it  higher,  and  he  made  its  elevation  a  hundred  cubits  or  172 
feet.  He  also  enlarged  the  porch,  making  it  120  feet  broad.  The 
whole  was  built  of  huge  blocks  of  white  stone,  with  plates  of  gold 
upon  the  front.2  The  holy  of  holies  consisted,  as  before,  of  a  dark, 
empty  room,  35  feet  in  each  dimension.  It  was  separated  from  the 
holy  place  by  curtains,  an  outer  and  an  inner,  which  were  a  foot 
apart.  The  holy  place  was  still  40  by  20  cubits,  but  was  now 
made  40  instead  of  30  cubits  high.3  Its  furniture  was  the  same  as 
in  the  second  temple:  the  table  of  show-bread,  the  altar  of  incense, 
and  the  lamp  with  seven  branches;  (Fig.  250).  The  entrance  to 
the  holy  place,  15  cubits  wide  and  70  cubits  high,  was  not  closed 
by  doors.  Josephus  declares  that  it  was  left  open  to  set  forth 
the  “unobstructed  openness  of  heaven.”4 

On  the  top  of  the  temple,  spikes  with  sharp  points  were  arranged 
to  prevent  birds  from  lighting  upon  it  and  defiling  it.  Twelve 
broad  steps  led  down  from  the  temple  to  the  court  of  the  priests.5 
These  steps  occupied  nearly  all  the  22  cubits  of  space  between  the 
porch  and  the  altar.  Not  far  from  the  steps  at  the  south  stood  the 
great  laver,  which  had  replaced  the  brazen  sea  of  Solomon’s  temple. 
The  altar  of  unhewn  stones  rose  upon  the  sacred  rock — sacred  since 
the  days  of  the  Jebusites  (and  possibly  since  the  stone  age),  to 
which  it  was  fitted  by  masonry.  The  base  of  the  altar  was  32  cubits 
square  and  1  high.  On  this  rose  a  structure  30  cubits  square  and  5 
cubits  high.  On  this  was  a  ledge  1  cubit  broad,  to  which  the  horns 
of  the  altar  were  attached.  Not  far  above  was  another  ledge,  also  a 
cubit  broad,  on  which  the  officiating  priests  might  stand.  Above 
this  was  the  altar  hearth  itself,  which  was  24  cubits  square.  South 

1  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  XX,  ix,  7. 

2  Ibid.,  XV,  xi,  3. 

3  Above  it  was  a  chamber  30  cubits  high. 

4  Josephus,  Wars  of  the  Jews,  V,  v,  6. 

6  See  Josephus,  Wars  of  the  Jews,  V,  v,  and  the  Mishna  tract  Middolh  for  the  authority  for  this 
description.  For  a  fuller  description,  see  G.  A.  Smith,  Jerusalem,  II,  Chapter  XVIII. 


JERUSALEM 


209 


of  the  altar  was  a  structure  of  masonry  on  which  priests  could  stand ; 
north  of  it,  the  place  for  the  slaughter  of  the  victims.  Here  the 
victims  to  be  slain  were  tied  to  rings  in  the  pavement.  There  were 
tables  of  marble  on  which  they  could  be  washed  and  flayed.  Beams 
supported  by  pillars  also  contained  hooks  on  which  they  could  be 
hung  for  quartering.  Herod,  as  noted  above,1  probably  con¬ 
structed  the  Low  Level  Aqueduct.  By  means  of  this  he  brought  a 
larger  supply  of  water  into  the  temple  area,  so  that  there  was  an 
abundance  of  water  with  which  to  flush  the  holy  place,  and  wash 
away  the  blood  and  refuse  with  which  the  place  must  often  have 
reeked,  especially  on  festal  days. 

A  low  wall  a  cubit  in  height  marked  off  the  court  of  the  priests 
from  the  court  of  Israel.  Accounts  differ  as  to  whether  this  wall 
was  on  the  east  only  or  whether  it  ran  around  the  whole  temple. 
The  court  of  Israel  lay  to  the  east  of  the  court  of  the  priests.  Again 
our  sources  of  information  differ  as  to  its  exact  size.  Here  the 
“congregation  of  Israel”  could  assemble  to  witness  the  sacred  sacri¬ 
fices.  To  the  east  of  the  court  of  Israel  lay  the  court  of  the  women. 
These  were  separated  by  a  wall,  but,  owing  to  the  downward  slope 
of  the  hill,  the  court  of  the  women  was  fifteen  steps  lower  than  that 
of  Israel.  Indeed,  the  level  of  the  court  of  Israel  was  only  main¬ 
tained  by  a  series  of  arches  which  supported  a  pavement.  Perhaps 
the  idea  of  a  court  for  the  women  had  been  a  gradual  development  of 
the  post-exilic  time,  in  which  they  had  been  permitted  to  watch  the 
sacrifices  from  a  definitely  defined  position  in  the  rear  of  the  men. 
At  all  events,  this  court  became  a  prominent  feature  in  the  temple 
of  Herod,  and  from  elevated  seats  on  its  eastern  side  women  could 
still  watch  the  sacred  ceremonies  of  the  temple.  With  the  excep¬ 
tion  of  this  gallery,  the  court  of  the  women  was  open  to  men.  It 
was  135  cubits  square  and  so  was  relatively  large.  Apparently  the 
temple  treasury  was  situated  in  this  court,  together  with  the  money 
boxes,  for  women  had  access  to  these.  Here  probably  Christ  was 
sitting  when  he  saw  the  poor  widow  cast  into  the  treasury  her  two 
mites  (Mark  12  : 41,  f.;  Luke  21  :  1,  f).  Around  these  courts  ran 
a  wall  43  feet  high.  This  wall  was  pierced  by  nine  gates,  four  on 
the  north,  four  on  the  south,  and  one  on  the  east.  A  gate  also 
separated  the  court  of  the  women  from  the  court  of  Israel.  Either 
the  gate  that  opened  out  of  the  court  of  the  women  to  the  eastward, 
or  the  one  between  the  court  of  the  women  and  the  court  of  Israel  (it 

1  See  Chapter  VI,  p.  131. 


210 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


is  uncertain  which  one)  had  been  given  by  one  Nicanor  and  was  of 
fine  Corinthian  bronze.  It  was  sometimes  called  “the  gate  beauti¬ 
ful”  and  sometimes  “  Nicanor’s  gate.”  It  was  by  this  gate,  and  so 
near  the  treasury  where  people  were  devoting  their  money  to  relig¬ 
ion,  that  Peter  and  John  found  the  lame  man  begging  (Acts  3  :  2,  f.). 

Outside  all  these  courts  lay  the  court  of  the  Gentiles.  This  was 
separated  from  the  courts  described  above  by  a  Soreg  or  ritual  wall, 
which  no  Gentile  might  pass.  Herod  placed  inscriptions  in  Greek 
at  the  various  gates  in  this  ritual  wall,  which  warned  Gentiles  on 
pain  of  death  not  to  enter.  The  court  of  the  Gentiles  surrounded 
the  other  courts  on  the  north,  east,  and  south;  it  was,  however,  most 
extensive  on  the  east  and  south;  (Fig.  257).  To  obtain  a  greater  area 
for  this  court  on  the  south,  Herod  extended  the  level  of  the  hill  by 
erecting  great  arches  which  supported  a  pavement.  This  structure 
still  remains;  it  is  now  called  “Solomon’s  stables”;  (Fig.  258). 
In  the  Crusading  period  horses  were  stabled  there.  Around  the 
court  thus  enlarged  ran  a  beautiful  colonnade.  The  pillars  for  this 
and  for  Herod’s  palace  were  quarried  from  the  rock  around  Jeru¬ 
salem.  One  pillar  which  had  a  defect  and  was  accordingly  never 
moved  from  the  quarry  was  found  a  few  years  since  in  front  of  the 
Russian  cathedral  north  of  the  city. 

Although  the  temple  has  passed  away  and  other  sacred  buildings 
have  since  the  second  century  been  erected  in  succession  near  its 
site,  the  expanse  of  the  court  of  the  Gentiles  remains,  and  as  the 
devout  Christian  visits  it  he  seems  almost  to  hear  the  footfalls  of 
Christ  and  of  Paul ! 

18.  The  Pool  of  Bethesda. — Another  spot  connected  with  the 
life  of  Christ  lay  not  far  from  the  temple  on  the  north;  it  was  the 
Pool  of  Bethesda.  It  was  situated  near  the  Sheep  Gate,  which  was 
just  northeast  of  the  temple.  Since  the  thirteenth  century  the 
Birket  Israin 1  which  lies  between  the  temple  area  and  the  modern  St. 
Stephen’s  Gate  has  been  identified  by  some  with  Bethesda.  Since 
1889  it  has  been  thought  by  many  that  two  pools  discovered  in  that 
year,  now  far  under  ground,  in  the  land  of  the  Church  of  St.  Anne, 
just  north  of  St.  Stephen’s  Gate,  constituted  the  Pool  of  Bethesda; 
(see  Fig.  259).  It  is  really  impossible  to  decide  between  the  two 
possibilities  on  the  evidence  we  have.  Both  are  in  the  region 
where  we  should  look  for  the  Pool  of  Bethesda. 

19.  Gethsemane. — Two  other  spots  near  Jerusalem  are  of  the 


xThat  is,  the  “  Pool  of  Israel.” 


JERUSALEM 


211 


deepest  interest  to  the  Christian  student — the  Garden  of  Geth- 
semane  and  Golgotha.  The  fact  is  certain  that  the  Garden  of 
Gethsemane  lay  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Mount  of  Olives.  (See 
Luke  22  : 39;  John  18  :  1;  Mark  14  :  26,  32.)  Since  the  sixteenth 
century  the  Roman  Catholics  have  shown  a  little  garden,  which 
lies  just  above  the  Kidron,  as  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane. 
More  recently  the  Russian  Church  has  walled  in  the  space  next 
above  it  as  the  real  garden.  There  is  no  certainty  that  the 
garden  was  on  either  site.  To  the  Jews  of  the  first  century  a 
garden  was  not  a  place  for  flower-beds,  but  an  olive  orchard,  and 
such  an  orchard  may  have  extended  widely  over  the  hillside.  We 
cannot  now  identify  the  spot  made  sacred  by  the  Master’s  agony, 
but  we  know  as  we  look  at  this  hillside  that  it  was  somewhere  on  it. 

20.  Calvary. — The  site  of  Calvary  or  Golgotha  is  not  so  easily 
discerned.  Since  the  year  326  a.  d.,  when  Helena,  the  mother  of 
the  Emperor  Constantine,  visited  Jerusalem,  there  has  been  a  con¬ 
tinuous  tradition  in  favor  of  the  site  on  which  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Sepulcher  stands.  We  know  from  Hebrews  13  :  12  that  the 
crucifixion  took  place  outside  the  city  walls.  Unfortunately,  we 
cannot  tell  whether  the  second  wall  of  this  period  ran  north  or 
south  of  the  spot  on  which  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher 
stands,  for  the  whole  region  lies  under  the  modern  city,  where  exca¬ 
vation  has  been  impossible.  If  the  second  wall  turned  eastward 
before  it  had  gone  as  far  north  as  this  spot,  it  may  well  be  that  the 
crucifixion  occurred  where  the  church  now  stands.  Pilate  con¬ 
demned  Jesus  at  the  palace  of  Herod  near  the  gate  Gennath  at 
the  northwest  corner  of  the  city  of  that  day.  Doubtless  the  mob 
swept  along  with  Jesus  through  the  gate  Gennath  to  the  spot  called 
Golgotha.  If  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher  was  on  that  spot, 
the  walk  was  not  a  long  one;  (see  Fig.  260). 

In  1849  Otto  Thenius  suggested  that  the  hill  north  of  the  modern 
Damascus  Gate  above  “Jeremiah’s  Grotto”  was  the  real  Golgotha; 
(Figs.  261,  262).  This  was  also  suggested  by  Fisher  Howe  in 
1871,  and  advocated  by  Gen.  C.  E.  Gordon  in  1881.  Near  it 
is  a  garden  in  which  is  a  rock-hewn  tomb;  (Figs.  263,  264). 
Since  the  days  of  Gordon  a  kind  of  Protestant  tradition  and  cult 
has  grown  up  about  this  spot  that  in  certain  quarters  evokes 
some  of  the  devotion  called  forth  among  Catholics  and  Oriental 
Christians  by  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher.  It  must  be  said 
that  the  tomb  in  the  garden  is,  like  many  similar  tombs  in  the 


212 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


neighborhood,  probably  not  earlier  than  the  third  or  fourth  century 
a.  d.,  and  there  is  really  no  more  reason  for  regarding  this  spot  as 
Golgotha  than  any  other  hill-top  near  the  city.  The  exact  spot 
where  our  Lord  suffered  is  not  certainly  known. 

Ecclesiastical  tradition  has  fixed  upon  many  other  spots  in  Jeru¬ 
salem  as  the  places  where  certain  events  in  the  life  of  Christ  oc¬ 
curred,  but  none  of  these  has  a  sufficient  degree  of  probability  in 
its  favor  to  merit  a  mention  in  an  archaeological  work. 

21.  Agrippa  I  and  the  Third  Wall. — In  the  reign  of  Herod  Agrippa 
I  (41-44  a.  d.),  Jerusalem  was  again  enlarged.  Agrippa  built  a 
third  wall  on  the  north.  Its  course  is  described  by  Josephus,1 
but  as  most  of  the  landmarks  mentioned  by  him  are  unknown, 
opinions  differ  as  to  its  course.  It  is  certain  that  it  started  at  the 
tower  Hippacus  and  went  northward  to  the  tower  Psephinus,  that 
it  enclosed  the  hill  Bezetha,  and  that  it  ran  along  the  edge  of  the 
Kidron  valley  to  join  the  old  wall.  Some  scholars  suppose  that  it 
ran  about  on  the  line  of  the  present  northern  Turkish  wall  of  the 
city;  others,  as  Robinson  and  Merrill,  thought  it  ran  much  further 
north  so  that  its  northeastern  corner  was  near  the  “Tombs  of  the 
Kings.”  While  there  is  not  decisive  evidence  in  the  matter,  the 
first  view,  that  the  third  wall  ran  near  the  line  of  the  modern  wall, 
seems  the  more  probable.  This  wall  was  begun  by  Agrippa,  wrho 
did  not  dare  to  finish  it  lest  Claudius  should  susppct  him  of  an  in¬ 
tention  to  rebel.  It  was,  however,  completed  by  the  Jews  before 
the  last  tragic  struggle  of  the  years  66-70,  and  formed  one  of  the 
features  of  Jerusalem  when  Paul  made  his  later  visits  to  the  city. 

We  have  not  space  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  Jerusalem  further. 
The  history  of  the  “Virgin  Daughter  of  Zion”  since  70  A.  D.,  when 
the  walls  were  broken  down  and  the  temple  destroyed  never  to  be 
rebuilt,  has  been  no  less  checkered  and  tragic  than  in  the  centuries 
that  preceded,2  but  the  hearts  of  all  Christians  as  well  as  of  Jews  and 
Mohammedans  turn  to  her  with  sympathy  and  affection,  because  of 
their  debt  to  the  holy  men  who  at  various  times,  from  David  to 
Paul,  lived  in  her  and  walked  her  streets,  and  because  of  her  tragic 
associations  with  the  life  and  death  of  One  who  was  more  than  man. 

1  Wars  of  the  Jews,  V,  iv,  2. 

:  The  city,  restored  under  the  heathen  name  of  /Elia.  Capitolina  by  the  Emperor  Hadrian  in  135 
a.  d.,  made  Christian  by  Constantine  in  325,  sacked  by  the  Persian  Chosroes  in  614,  taken  by  the 
Arabs  in  636,  captured  after  many  vicissitudes  in  1072  by  the  Seljuk  Turks,  made  by  the  First 
Crusade  the  seat  of  the  Latin  kingdom  of  Jerusalem  from  1099  to  1187,  when  Saladin  took  it,  was 
once  more  after  many  other  vicissitudes  captured  by  the  Ottoman  Turks  in  1517. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


THE  DECAPOLIS 

Origin.  Damascus.  Scythopolis.  Cities  East  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  Gadara. 

Pella  and  Dion.  Gerasa.  Philadelphia.  Jesus  in  the  Decapolis. 

1.  Origin. — Three  times  in  the  Gospels  the  Decapolis  is  men¬ 
tioned:  Matt.  4  :  25;  Mark  5  :  20  and  7  :  31.  Decapolis  is  a  Greek 
name  and  means  “the  ten  city”  (region).  The  ancient  writers  who 
mention  it  agree  that  it  originally  consisted  of  ten  cities  in  which 
Greek  population  was  dominant  and  which  were  federated  together. 
Pliny1  gives  the  ten  cities  as  Damascus,  Philadelphia,  Raphana, 
Scythopolis,  Gadara,  Hippos,  Dion,  Pella,  Gerasa,  and  Kanatha. 
Ptolemy,  the  astronomer  and  geographer,  in  the  second  century 
A.  d.  enumerated  eighteen  cities  as  belonging  to  it.  In  the  time  of 
Christ  it  probably  consisted  of  but  ten.  The  Decapolis  apparently 
was  created  by  the  Roman  General  Pompey,  when  he  conquered 
this  region  for  Rome  in  65-63  b.  c.  These  cities  with  Greek  popula¬ 
tions  appear  to  have  appealed  to  him  and  he  granted  them  certain 
privileges,  including  a  degree  of  autonomy.  They  were,  however, 
subject  to  the  Legate  of  Syria.  Hippos,  Scythopolis,  and  Pella 
were  released  by  him  at  this  time  from  the  Jewish  yoke.2  Josephus, 
at  the  end  of  the  first  century  a.  d.,  does  not  reckon  Damascus  in 
the  Decapolis,  but  before  the  time  of  Paul,  Damascus  had  been  cap¬ 
tured  by  the  Nabathaeans  or  Arabians,  and  may  not,  when  retaken 
by  Rome,  have  been  again  accorded  the  privileges  of  the  cities  of 
the  Decapolis. 

2.  Damascus,  which  is  mentioned  in  the  annals  of  Thothmes  III 
before  1447  b.  c.,  and  in  the  accounts  of  Abraham  (Gen.  14  :  15; 
15  :  2),  has  been  continuously  in  existence  as  a  city  ever  since,  and 
is  one  of  the  most  flourishing  cities  of  Syria  at  the  present  time. 
It  was  occupied  in  the  thirteenth  or  fourteenth  century  b.  c.  by 
Aramaeans  who  held  it  all  through  the  Old  Testament  period. 
Kings  of  Damascus  frequently  fought  with  Israel.  From  the  time 
of  Alexander  the  Great  it  came  under  Hellenic  influences.  After 

2  Josephus,  Wars  of  the  Jews,  I,  vii,  7. 

213 


1  Eistoria  Naturalis,  V,  xviii,  74. 


214 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


his  death  it  was  first  possessed  by  the  Ptolemies  of  Egypt,  but  was 
taken  by  the  Seleucid  kings  of  Antioch  before  261  b.  c.  It  is  situ¬ 
ated  in  one  of  the  most  fertile  oases  of  the  world — an  oasis  that 
Arabian  poets  delighted  to  compare  to  Paradise.  Probably  Alex¬ 
ander’s  successors,  who,  as  we  shall  see,  built  many  Hellenic  cities, 
beautified  this  oasis  with  one  of  them,  but  as  the  site  has  been  occu¬ 
pied  continuously,  no  buildings  from  this  time  remain.  One  fea¬ 
ture  at  Damascus  that  still  recalls  Biblical  times  is  the  street  called 
Straight,  which  runs  westward  from  the  eastern  gate  into  the  heart 
of  the  city.  It  was  in  a  house  on  the  ancient  forerunner  of  this 
street  that  Paul  first  lodged  at  the  time  of  his  conversion  (Acts 
9:11);  (see  Fig.  265). 

One  other  part  of  Damascus  recalls  a  Biblical  narrative.  This 
is  the  river  Barada  which  still  runs  through  the  heart  of  the  city. 
It  is  the  river  called  Abana  in  2  Kings  5:12,  and  was  said  by  Naa- 
man  to  be  “better  than  all  the  waters  of  Israel”;  (see  Fig.  266). 

3.  Scythopolis  was  the  only  one  of  the  cities  of  the  Decapolis 
west  of  the  Jordan.  It  was  on  the  site  of  the  Beth-shean  of  the  Old 
Testament  (Josh.  17  :  11;  1  Sam.  31  :  10, 12;  2  Sam.  21  :  12;  1  Kings 
4  :  12).  Beth-shean  was  already  a  city  at  the  time  Palestine  was 
conquered  by  Thotbmes  III1  and  there  has  apparently  been  a  town 
near  this  spot  ever  since.  It  seems  to  have  been  called  Scythopolis 
by  the  successors  of  Alexander  the  Great,  probably  because  a  group 
of  Scythians  had  taken  the  city  and  settled  there.  When  it  came 
into  the  possession  of  Scythians  we  can  only  conjecture,  but  it  was 
probably  at  the  time  of  the  great  Scythian  invasion  of  Palestine, 
about  625-615  b.  c.  This  invasion  called  forth  the  dark  prophecies 
of  the  book  of  Zephaniah.  Scythopolis  appears  from  certain  coins2 
to  have  become  a  Hellenic  city  in  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great. 
In  the  time  of  Ptolemy  Euergetes  I,  247-222  b.  c.,  it  was  subject  to 
Egypt,3  but  it  passed  to  the  dominions  of  the  Seleucidae  of  Antioch 
in  198  b.  c.  Upon  the  break-up  of  the  Syrian  empire  in  65-63  b.  c., 
Pompey  made  it  one  of  the  cities  of  the  Decapolis. 

The  remains  of  the  Hellenic  city  have  now  entirely  disappeared 
with  the  exception  of  the  great  stone  amphitheater.  This  may  still 
be  seen4  in  the  valley  on  the  south  side  of  the  mound  which  covers 

1  See  Chapter  V,  p.  111. 

*  See  Schiirer,  Geschichte  des  Jiidischen  Volkcs  im  Zeitalter  Jesu  Christi,  Leipzig,  1907,  II,  172, 
and  note  321. 

3  See  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  XII,  iv,  5. 

4  See  Barton,  A  Year’s  Wandering  in  Bible  Lands,  Philadelphia,  1904,  p.  176. 


THE  DECAPOLIS 


215 


the  ruins  of  the  ancient  Beth-shean,  where  it  is  overgrown  with 
briers.  The  name  Scythopolis  has  long  since  disappeared,  and  the 
old  Hebrew  name  for  the  place  still  survives  in  the  name  of  the 
modern  town  Beisan.  This  modern  town  is  situated  on  the  south 
side  of  the  valley  mentioned  above,  a  little  distance  from  the  mound 
which  covers  the  ancient  city.  Scythopolis  was  situated  at  the 
point  where  the  plain  of  Jezreel  or  Esdraelon  joins  the  Jordan  valley. 
In  the  time  of  Christ  the  Jews  from  Nazareth  and  its  vicinity,  when 
going  to  the  three  annual  festivals  at  Jerusalem,  came  down  the 
plain  and  then  followed  the  Jordan  valley  down  to  Jericho  (see 
Luke  19  :  1),  in  order  to  avoid  going  through  Samaria.  From  the 
time  that  Jesus  was  twelve  years  old  he  must,  therefore,  have  often 
passed  by  Scythopolis  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem.  As  it  was  a 
Gentile  town,  however,  neither  he  nor  his  companions  would  enter 
it  on  such  occasions,  as  they  would  thereby  be  rendered  unclean. 

4.  Cities  East  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee. — To  the  east  of  the  Sea  of 
Galilee  lay  three  of  the  cities  of  the  Decapolis.  Hippos  was  com¬ 
paratively  near  the  sea,  where  Susiye  now  lies.  The  Jews  of  the 
Talmudic  period  called  the  place  Susitha.1  Hippos  is  the  Greek 
for  horse.  Susitha  is  a  Hebrew  translation  of  this  and  Susiye  is  an 
Arabic  corruption  of  the  Hebrew.  All  traces  of  the  ancient  Hippos 
except  the  name  have  disappeared. 

Where  Raphana  was  situated  has  not  yet  been  definitely  deter¬ 
mined.  It  is  probably  the  same  as  Raphon  mentioned  in  1  Macc. 
5:37,  which  was  near  to  Ashteroth-karnaim2  (Gen.  14:5). 
Ashteroth-karnaim  was  situated  either  at  Tell  Ashtara  or  at  Tell 
Ashary,  both  of  which  are  between  twenty  and  twenty-five  miles 
east  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  Raphana,  then,  probably  lay  about 
twenty  miles  due  east  from  Hippos. 

Still  eastward  of  this  lay  the  city  of  Kanatha,  though  scholars 
are  divided  in  opinion  as  to  whether  its  site  is  to  be  identified  with 
El-Kerak  or  with  Kanawat.  If  its  site  was  at  El-Kerak  it  was  about 
forty  miles  east  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee;  if  at  Kanawat  it  was  about 
fifty-five  miles  distant  from  the  sea.  As  there  are  at  Kanawat 
abundant  ruins  of  a  beautiful  Hellenic  city,3  Kanatha  was  probably 
situated  here  rather  than  at  El-Kerak.  This  was  the  Kenath  of 
Num.  32  : 42. 


1  See  Neubauer,  Geographic  du  Talmud,  Paris,  1868,  238-240. 

1  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  XII,  viii,  4. 

3  Briinnow  and  Domaszewski,  Provincia  Arabia,  III,  107-144,  and  Fig.  267. 


216 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


5.  Gadara. — A  little  to  the  south  of  the  southern  end  of  the  Sea 
of  Galilee  on  the  east  of  the  Jordan  and  south  of  the  Yarmuk  lay 
the  city  of  Gadara,  another  member  of  the  Decapolis.  Its  site  is 
now  marked  by  the  ruins  of  Umm  Keis  or  Mukes.  Here  ruins  of 
the  Hellenic  city  are  still  to  be  seen,  including  a  great  theater  cut 
out  of  the  black  basaltic  rock.  Gadara  was  a  strong  fortress  as 
early  as  the  time  of  Antiochus  the  Great  in  218  b.  c.,1  and  was 
afterward  besieged  by  Alexander  Jannaeus,2  104-79  b.  c. 

6.  Pella  and  Dion. — On  the  east  of  the  Jordan,  a  little  further 
south  than  Scythopolis  or  Beth-shean,  but  in  the  deep  depression 
of  the  river  valley,  Pella,  another  city  of  the  Decapolis,  was  situ¬ 
ated.  The  site  now  bears  the  name  Fahl.  The  city  is  mentioned  in 
the  list  of  Thothmes  III,  1503-1447  b.  c.,  as  Pahul.  Pella  is  a 
Greek  form  of  this  name.  The  Greek  city  of  Pella  is  said  by 
Stephen  of  Byzantium3  to  have  been  founded  by  Alexander  the 
Great.  In  the  Talmud  it  is  called  Pahal,4  and  the  modern  name 
Fahl  is  an  Arabian  form  of  this.  Extensive  ruins  of  the  Hellenic 
city  are  still  visible  at  Fahl.5 

Dion  is  also  said  to  have  been  founded  by  Alexander  the  Great 
and  was  apparently  not  far  from  Pella.  It  is  thought  by  Merrill6 
and  G.  A.  Smith  to  have  been  situated  on  the  site  of  the  modern 
Eidun,  about  twenty  miles  east  of  Pella,  though  this  is  doubted  by 
others.7  If  Dion  was  at  this  point  few,  if  any,  antiquities  remain 
to  bear  witness  to  the  fact. 

7.  Gerasa,  the  modern  Jerash,  lay  on  one  of  the  tributaries  of 
the  Jabbok  about  fifty  miles  southeast  of  Pella.  We  do  not  know 
what  the  name  of  the  place  was  in  Old  Testament  times.  It  is 
first  mentioned  in  the  time  of  Alexander  Jannaeus  (104-79  b.  c.).8 
It  was  then  called  Gerasa  and  was  probably  already  at  that  time  a 
Hellenic  city.  By  whom  it  was  built,  we  do  not  know,  but  it  was 
probably  one  of  the  early  Ptolemies  of  Egypt.  From  100  b.  c. 
till  the  Mohammedan  conquest  in  637  A.  d.,  it  flourished  as  a  beau¬ 
tiful  city,  and  later  it  was  a  city  of  some  importance.  It  probably 
was  overtaken  by  some  calamity  and  the  site  of  the  Hellenic  city 

1  See  Polybius,  V,  71. 

2  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  XIII,  xiii,  3. 

3  Schiirer,  Geschichte  des  Jiidischen  Volkes  im  Zeitalter  Jesu  Christi,  4th  ed.,  II,  1907,  p.  175. 

4  Neubauer,  Geographic  du  Talmud,  274. 

6  See  Merrill,  East  of  the  Jordan,  New  York,  1883,  184,  ff.  and  442,  f.;  also  Schumacher,  Across 
the  Jordan,  London,  1886,  p.  272,  f. 

6  Merrill,  ibid.,  298,  and  G.  A.  Smith,  Historical  Geography  of  the  Holy  Land,  map. 

7  So  Brunnow  and  Domaszewski,  Provincia  Arabia,  III,  264. 

8  Josephus,  Wars  of  the  Jews,  I,  iv,  8. 


THE  DECAPOLIS 


217 


abandoned  soon  after  the  year  637,  as  there  are  no  Arabic  remains 
above  the  Graeco-Roman  material.  In  the  year  1121  Baldwin  II, 
of  the  Latin  kingdom  of  Jerusalem,  made  a  campaign  against 
Gerasa,  where  the  ruler  of  Damascus  had  caused  a  castle  to  be 
built.  In  the  next  century  the  Arabian  geographer,  Yakut,  de¬ 
scribes  it  as  deserted.  It  appears  to  have  been  ruined  by  an  earth¬ 
quake. 

Apparently  the  Hellenic  city  at  Gerasa  lasted  longer  than  any  of 
the  other  cities  of  the  Decapolis  unless  it  be  Kanatha.  One  can, 
accordingly,  gain  from  the  ruins  of  Gerasa  an  excellent  idea  of  the 
general  appearance  of  one  of  these  cities.1  The  writer  has  never 
seen  more  beautiful  ruins  than  those  at  Jerash  except  the  ruins  at 
Athens.  As  one  approached  the  site  from  the  south  he  faced  a 
beautiful  arched  gateway.  After  passing  this  gateway  one  looked 
northward  down  a  long  colonnaded  street,  which  at  a  little  distance 
from  the  gate  broadened  out  into  a  circular  forum.  At  distances 
approximately  equal  from  one  another  this  main  street  was  crossed 
by  other  colonnaded  streets.  A  number  of  these  columns  are  stand¬ 
ing  in  different  parts  of  the  town.  The  remains  of  two  imposing 
temples,  of  two  theaters,  of  a  large  Christian  basilica,  and  of  various 
other  buildings,  impress  one  with  the  former  glory  of  the  city.  A 
number  of  the  buildings  at  Gerasa  were  built  in  the  second  century 
a.  d.  in  the  reign  of  the  Antonines;  (see  Figs.  268,  269). 

8.  Philadelphia,  the  most  southerly  of  the  cities  of  the  Decapolis, 
wTas  on  the  site  of  Rabbah  Ammon  (Deut.  3:11;  Josh.  13  :  25;  2 
Sam.  11:1,  etc.).  This  was  situated  on  the  upper  Jabbok  about 
twenty  miles  east  of  the  Jordan  valley,  where  Amman  now  lies. 
The  Hellenic  city  here  was  built  by  Ptolemy  Philadelphus  of  Egypt, 
who  reigned  from  283-247  b.  c.  It  was  named  Philadelphia  from 
him.  In  218  b.  c.  the  city  was  taken  by  Antiochus  III,  who 
captured  the  cistern  to  which  in  time  of  siege  the  Philadelphians 
went  for  water  by  an  underground  passage,2  after  which  thirst 
compelled  them  to  surrender.  Joab  centuries  before  had  captured 
the  city  for  David  by  the  same  method,3  and  in  30  b.  c.  Herod  the 
Great  again  took  it  in  the  same  way.4  The  remains  of  the  Hellenic 


1  See  Merrill,  East  of  the  Jordan,  281-284;  Schumacher  in  Zeitschrift  des  deutschen  Paldstina- 
Vereins,  XXV,  1912,  111-177;  Briinnow  and  Domaszewski,  Provincia  Arabia,  II,  234-139;  Barton, 
A  Year's  Wandering  in  Bible  Lands,  158,  f. 

2  See  Polybius,  V,  71. 

3  See  2  Sam.  12  :  27  and  Barton  in  the  Journal  of  Biblical  Literature,  XXVII,  147-152. 

4  See  Josephus,  Wars  of  the  Jews,  I,  xix,  5. 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


218 

# 

temple,  of  the  theater,  and  of  other  buildings,  including  a  Christian 
basilica,  are  still  to  be  seen  at  Amman.1  In  the  fourth  century 
a.  d.  Philadelphia  was  one  of  the  prominent  cities  of  the  Roman 
province  of  Arabia;  (see  Figs.  270,  271). 

These  cities  of  the  Decapolis  appear  to  have  been  built  on  a 
similar  plan.  Each  had  a  colonnaded  street  through  the  center  of 
the  town,  each  had  at  least  one  temple  and  one  theater,  and  some  of 
them  more.  All  were  architecturally  beautiful.  They  all  pos¬ 
sessed  a  similar  government  also,  and  each  appears  to  have  con¬ 
trolled  the  villages  in  its  district. 

9.  Jesus  in  the  Decapolis. — The  prevailing  influences  in  the 
Decapolis  were  pagan,  and  yet  there  were  Jews  living  in  it,  for  mul¬ 
titudes  of  them  from  the  Decapolis  followed  Jesus  (Matt.  4  :  25). 
On  at  least  two  occasions  our  Lord  himself  went  into  the  territory 
of  the  Decapolis.  We  read  in  Mark  5  :  1  that  Jesus  and  his  disci¬ 
ples  “came  to  the  other  side  of  the  sea  to  the  country  of  the  Gera- 
senes.”  The  Authorized  Version  reads  “to  the  country  of  the 
Gadarenes.”  The  country  to  which  Jesus  came  at  this  time  cannot 
have  been  that  of  the  Decapolitan  city  Gerasa,  for,  as  we  have  seen, 
that  lay  far  to  the  south.  It  was  in  a  direct  line  nearly  fifty  miles 
from  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  Neither  can  it  have  been  to  the  region  of 
Gadara  that  he  came,  for  Gadara  lay  at  least  five  miles  to  the 
south  across  the  deep  valley  of  the  Yarmuk.  There  was,  however, 
on  the  east  shore  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee  a  town  called  Gergesa,  the 
modern  Kursi.  This  place  was  near  the  city  of  Hippos,  and  possibly 
one  of  the  towns  subordinate  to  Hippos.  As  Jesus  and  the  disciples 
walked  back  from  the  sea  they  met  the  demoniac,  whom  Jesus 
healed.  It  was  in  connection  with  this  healing  that  the  herd  of 
swine  was  destroyed — an  incident  that  could  happen  in  no  part  of 
Palestine  except  Decapolis  or  Philistia,  for  swine  were  unclean  to 
Jews  and  they  never  kept  them.  The  demoniac,  when  cured,  went 
and  preached  Jesus  in  the  Decapolis  (Mark  5  :  20). 

Again,  toward  the  end  of  the  ministry  of  Jesus,  after  he  had  with¬ 
drawn  for  a  time  to  Phoenicia,  he  returned  by  crossing  the  high 
lands  of  northern  Galilee  and  coming  down  east  of  the  Jordan 
“through  the  midst  of  the  borders  of  Decapolis”  (Mark  7  :  31). 


1  See  Merrill,  East  of  the  Jordan,  399,  ff.;  Schumacher,  Across  the  Jordan,  308;  Briinnow  and 
Domaszewski,  Provincia  Arabia,  II,  216-220,  and  Barton,  A  Year's  Wandering  in  Bible  Lands, 
155,  f. 


CHAPTER  XV 


ATHENS,  CORINTH,  AND  THE  CHURCHES  OF  ASIA 

Athens.  Corinth.  The  Churches  of  Asia:  Ephesus.  Pergamum.  Thyatira. 

Sardis.  Philadelphia.  Smyrna.  Laodicea. 

The  greater  part  of  Biblical  history  was  enacted  in  Palestine  and 
the  great  valleys  of  Mesopotamia  and  the  Nile.  The  Apostle 
Paul,  however,  broke  the  Jewish  bonds  of  primitive  Christianity  and 
carried  the  Gospel  to  the  coasts  of  the  ^Egean  Sea.  In  cities  of  this 
region  he  spent  years  of  his  active  missionary  life;  to  churches  of 
this  region  most  of  his  epistles  were  sent,  and  to  churches  of  this 
part  of  the  world  the  seven  messages  to  the  churches  were  addressed. 
We  cannot,  therefore,  conclude  this  sketch  of  what  archaeology  has 
done  to  throw  light  upon  the  Bible  without  saying  a  few  words 
concerning  exploration  and  excavations  in  certain  parts  of  Greece 
and  Asia  Minor.  It  will  be  impossible  for  lack  of  space  to  go  thor¬ 
oughly  into  the  history  of  this  region,  but  as  these  lands  were  not, 
like  Egypt,  Babylonia,  Assyria,  and  Palestine,  closely  connected 
with  Biblical  history  for  a  long  period,  detailed  history  of  them 
before  the  Apostolic  age  will  not  be  missed  by  the  student  of  the 
Bible. 

The  results  of  scattered  discoveries  at  Thessalonica  and  else¬ 
where  will  be  presented  in  Part  II,  Chapter  XXVII.  At  this  point 
attention  will  be  directed  to  a  few  important  cities. 

1.  Athens,  the  chief  city  of  Attica,  one  of  the  least  productive 
parts  of  Greece,  is  the  far-famed  mistress  of  the  world’s  culture  and 
art.  Emerging  from  obscurity  in  the  seventh  century  before 
Christ,  gaining  a  position  of  leadership  in  the  Persian  wars 'after 
500  b.  c.,  Athens  established  a  considerable  empire.  In  this  period 
fell  the  age  of  Pericles,  460-429  b.  c.,  when  the  artistic  and  literary 
genius  of  Athens  reached  a  height  never  equaled  in  human  history. 
Socrates  was  born  here  in  469  and  lived  till  399  b.  c.  Here  Plato, 
who  was  born  about  428,  became  a  pupil  of  Socrates  and  afterward 
taught.  Hither  came  Aristotle,  after  the  year  367,  to  sit  at  Plato’s 

feet.  Here  from  the  age  of  Pericles  the  acropolis  was  crowned  with 

219 


220 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


those  architectural  creations  that  are  at  once  the  admiration  and 
the  despair  of  the  world;  (see  Fig.  277).  It  stirs  the  imagination 
to  think  of  Paul  iff  such  a  city. 

In  the  time  of  Paul,  Athens  was  a  Roman  city,  though  still  one 
of  the  great  artistic  and  philosophical  centers  of  the  world.  At  a 
little  distance  from  the  acropolis  on  its  northern  side,  a  forum  of 
the  Roman  period  was  laid  bare  in  1891;  (see  Fig.  272).  Possibly 
this  is  the  market-place  in  which  Paul,  during  his  stay  th^re,  rea¬ 
soned  every  day  with  them  that  met  him  (Acts  17  :  17),  though  of 
this  we  cannot  be  certain,  for,  while  this  was  a  market-place  in  the 
Roman  period,  the  older  market  of  the  Athenian  people  lay  to  the 
westward  of  it. 

To  the  west  of  the  acropolis  lies  the  old  Areopagus,  or  Mars* 
Hill  (Fig.  273),  from  which  it  was  long  supposed  that  Paul 
made  the  address  recorded  in  Acts  17  :  22-31.  Ramsay,1  following 
Curtius,  has  made  it  probable  that  the  address  was  delivered  to  the 
city-fathers  of  Athens,  not  because  they  were  putting  Paul  to  a 
judicial  trial,  but  because  they  wished  to  see  whether  he  was  to  be 
allowed  to  teach  Christianity,  which  they  took  for  a  new  philosophy, 
in  the  univeristy  of  Athens — for  Athens  itself  was  a  kind  of  univer¬ 
sity.  It  seems  probable  that  the  meetings  of  the  city-fathers,  who 
were  collectively  called  the  Areopagus  (Acts  17  :  22),  were  held  not 
on  the  top  of  the  rock,  but  in  the  market-place.  The  Athenian  altar 
“to  an  unknown  god”  is  treated  in  Part  II,  Chapter  XXVII,  §  2. 

2.  Corinth. — From  Athens,  Paul  went  to  Corinth,  where  he  spent 
a  year  and  a  half  (Acts  18  :  1,  11).  Corinth  was  one  of  the  old 
cities  of  Greece.  In  Homeric  and  earlier  times  it  appears  to  have 
been  subject  to  Argos.  Situated  on  the  isthmus  between  northern 
Greece  and  the  Peloponnesus,  the  sea-trade  of  Corinth  made  it  an 
important  city.  It  rose  to  prominence  in  the  seventh  century 
before  Christ.  At  some  early  time  foreigners  from  the  east,  prob¬ 
ably  Phoenicians,  had  settled  in  Corinth  and  established  the  worship 
of  the  Semitic  goddess  Astarte  on  Acro-Corinthus,  a  hill  that  rises 
some  five  hundred  feet  above  the  city.  The  goddess  was  here 
known  as  Aphrodite,2  and  the  debasing  character  of  her  worship 
tended  to  foster  that  lack  of  sensitiveness  in  matters  of  social  moral¬ 
ity  with  which  Paul  deals  in  his  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians. 
The  trade  of  Corinth  made  it  rich  and  its  riches  excited  the  enmity 

1  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller  and  Roman  Citizen,  New  York,  1896,  243,  ff. 

2  See  Farnell,  Cults  of  the  Greek  States,  II,  Oxford,  1896,  618-699. 


ATHENS,  CORINTH,  CHURCHES  OF  ASIA  221 


of  Rome.  It  was  accordingly  destroyed  by  the  Romans  in  146  b.  c., 
but  a  century  later  was  rebuilt  by  Julius  Caesar.  Ancient  Corinth 
has  now  entirely  vanished. 

Excavations  were  begun  at  Corinth  by  the  American  School  of 
Classical  Studies  at  Athens  in  1896  under  the  direction  of  the  late 
Prof.  Rufus  B.  Richardson.  The  work  has  been  carried  forward 
season  by  season  ever  since.1  Although  there  were  no  topographical 
indications  to  help  the  excavators  at  the  start,  the  theater,  the 
Agora  or  market-place,  a  Roman  street,  the  road  to  Lechaeum, 
and  the  temple  of  Apollo  have  been  discovered;  (Figs.  274,276). 

Of  greatest  interest  to  the  student  of  the  Bible  is  a  stone  dis¬ 
covered  in  1898  on  the  Lechaeum  road  near  the  propylaea,  or  gate¬ 
way  leading  to  the  market-place.  This  stone  once  formed  the  lintel 
of  a  door  and  bore  an  inscription  in  Greek  letters.  Although  the 
beginning  and  the  end  of  the  two  words  written  on  it  are  broken 
away,  it  is  clear  that  the  inscription  was  “Synagogue  of  the  He¬ 
brews.”2  The  cutting  of  the  letters  was  poorly  done,  and  the  block 
was  a  second-hand  one,  adapted  from  some  other  use.  It  seems 
probable,  therefore,  that  the  Jewish  community  at  Corinth  was  not 
wealthy.  The  block  was  of  considerable  size  and  so  was  probably 
found  not  far  from  where  the  synagogue  stood.  If  so,  this  syna¬ 
gogue,  which  is  probably  identical  with  the  one  in  which  Paul 
preached  (Acts  18  :  4),  stood  on  the  Lechaeum  road  not  far  from  the 
market-place.  Other  discoveries  in  the  neighborhood  indicate  that 
this  was  a  residence  quarter  of  the  city,  and  we  learn  from  Acts 
18  :  7  that  the  house  of  Titus  Justus,  where  apparently  Paul  organ¬ 
ized  the  first  church  in  Corinth,  “joined  hard  to  the  synagogue.” 
The  house  of  Justus  must,  then,  have  been  here,  and  the  Lechaeum 
road  often  echoed  to  the  footsteps  of  Paul.  Probably  the  judg¬ 
ment-seat  to  which  the  Jews  dragged  Paul  for  the  hearing  before 
Gallio  (Acts  18  :  12)  was  in  the  market-place,  so  that  the  excava¬ 
tions  have  revealed  to  us  the  parts  of  Corinth  of  special  interest  to  a 
reader  of  the  Bible. 

3.  The  Churches  of  Asia. 

(1)  Ephesus  was  situated  on  the  Cayster  river  in  western  Asia 
Minor,  about  three  miles  from  the  sea,  but  in  ancient  times  the  sea 
was  navigable  up  as  far  as  the  city.  Cities  which  form  the  point  of 

1  See  American  Journal  of  Archeology ,  2d  series,  II,  133,  f.;  Ill,  204,  f . ;  IV,  306,  f.;  VI,  306,  f  , 
439,  f.;  X,  17,  f.,  and  XIV,  19,  f. 

2  See  Benjamin  Powell  in  American  Journal  of  Archeology,  2d  series,  VII,  60,  f.,  and  Fig.  275. 


222 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


contact  between  land  and  sea  traffic  become  in  most  countries 
populous  and  wealthy.  In  western  Asia  Minor  four  cities,  situated 
at  the  mouths  of  the  four  river  valleys  through  which  caravans 
could  proceed  into  the  interior,  became  populous  and  important. 
These  were  Miletus  (see  Acts  20  :  15,  17,  f.)  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Masander,  Ephesus  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cayster,  Smyrna  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Hermus,  and  Pergamum  on  the  Caicus.  In  the  earliest 
times  known  to  us  Ephesus  was  eclipsed  in  importance  by  Miletus, 
but  before  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  Ephesus  had  out¬ 
stripped  her  rival.  This  was  due  to  several  causes,  one  of  which  was 
the  partial  silting  up  of  the  harbor  of  Miletus.  In  Roman  times 
Ephesus  lay  on  the  great  line  of  communication  between  Rome  and 
the  East  in  general.1  In  later  centuries  the  harbor  of  Ephesus  was 
in  its  turn  silted  up,  and  the  site  is  now  deserted  except  for  a  neigh¬ 
boring  wretched  Turkish  village. 

In  Homer’s  Iliad 2  the  Carians  are  called  the  “barbarous-speaking 
Carians.”  This  would  indicate  that  they  were  not  Greek,  and  it  is 
thought  by  some  that  they  may  at  this  time  have  been  of  Hittite 
stock.  Miletus  was  in  Caria,  and  at  that  time  Ephesus  also.  It 
is  certain  that  the  earliest  inhabitants  of  Ephesus  were  not  Greek, 
but  of  Asiatic  origin.  They  established  here,  either  on  a  mountain 
top  about  five  miles  from  the  sea,  just  above  the  modern  railway 
station  of  Ayassuluk,  or  on  a  mountain  a  little  to  the  south,  the 
worship  of  an  Asiatic  goddess,  probably  Hittite.  Later,  in  the 
seventh  century  before  Christ,  the  Ionian  Greeks  came  and  settled 
among  the  Asiatics.  They  identified  the  goddess  with  their  own 
Artemis  (Authorized  Version,  Diana),  and  moved  her  temple  down 
into  the  plain,3  where  it  continued  to  stand  far  into  Christian  times. 
In  the  sixth  century  b.  c.  Ephesus  was  conquered  by  the  Lydians, 
and  then  by  the  Persians.  In  later  centuries  it  passed  under  the 
control  of  Alexander  the  Great,  of  the  Seleucidae  of  Syria,  and  of  the 
kings  of  Pergamum.  In  133  b.  c.  it  passed  with  the  rest  of  the 
kingdom  of  Pergamum  into  the  hands  of  Rome  and  became  a  part 
of  the  Roman  Province  of  Asia.  Because  of  its  situation  it  quickly 
became  the  most  important  city  of  the  province.  It  was  noted  for 
its  wealth  and  its  commerce.  Rome  became  the  patron  of  Hellenic 
culture  in  the  East,  so  Ephesus  was,  of  course,  made  an  architectur¬ 
ally  beautiful  city. 

1  See  Ramsay’s  article  “Ephesus”  in  Hastings’  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  Vol.  II,  p.  721,  f.,  for 
further  details. 

*  Book  II,  1.  868. 


3  See  Hogarth’s  Ionia  and  the  East,  Oxford,  1909,  p.  45,  f. 


ATHENS,  CORINTH,  CHURCHES  OF  ASIA  223 


At  first  Pergamum  was  the  capital  of  the  Province  of  Asia.  In 
the  second  and  third  centuries  of  the  Christian  era  Ephesus  had  be¬ 
come  the  capital.  Buchner1  thinks  that  this  transfer  was  made  in 
the  reign  of  Claudius,  41-54  A.  d.  If  this  were  true,  Ephesus  was  the 
capital  of  the  province  at  the  time  of  Paul’s  residence  there,  but  there 
is  considerable  doubt  about  the  facts,  and  in  the  beginning  of  the 
second  century  A.  d.  Pergamum  still  ranked  as  the  official  capital.2 

The  temple  of  Artemis  lay  about  two  miles  to  the  northeast  of  the 
ancient  city.  Its  site  was  determined  in  1869  by  the  English  ex¬ 
plorer,  J.  T.  Wood,  who  partially  excavated  it  (1869-1874). 3 
Wood  brought  to  light  various  marble  fragments  which  are  pre¬ 
served  in  the  British  Museum,  but  he  was  more  interested  in  making 
conjectural  restorations  of  the  temple  than  in  telling  what  he  found. 
As  he  was  not  an  expert  in  ancient  architecture  his  work  is,  accord¬ 
ingly,  unsatisfactory.  In  1904-1905,  the  British  Museum  employed 
Mr.  Hogarth  to  complete  the  excavation  of  the  site.  Hogarth  car¬ 
ried  the  excavation  down  to  the  virgin  soil,  and,  being  a  skilled 
archaeologist,  he  was  able  to  reconstruct  the  history  of  the  building.4 

There  seems  to  have  been  a  small  tree  shrine  on  the  site  of  the 
temple  before  the  Ionians  came.  Between  the  seventh  century  and 
the  fifth,  three  different  structures  were  erected  on  the  spot.  The 
last  of  these  was  called  the  temple  of  Croesus,  because  this  king  of 
Lydia  presented  some  beautiful  columns  to  it,  though  the  structure 
was  not  completed  till  a  century  after  his  time,  or  430  b.  c.  This 
structure  was  burned  in  356  b.  c.  on  the  night  that  Alexander  the 
Great  was  born.  Later  a  larger  temple,  425  by  220  feet,  was  built 
on  the  site,  with  the  help  of  contributions  from  the  whole  of  Asia. 
This  was  standing  until  long  after  Paul’s  time.  It  was  very  beau¬ 
tiful.  Some  of  the  porphyry  columns  now  in  Santa  Sophia  at  Con¬ 
stantinople  are  said  to  have  been  taken  from  it.  It  has  been 
thought  by  some  that  this  beautiful  temple  suggested  to  Paul 
his  figure  ini  Cor. 3:  10-17,  since  the  words  were  written  from 
Ephesus. 

This  temple  was  venerated  over  all  of  western  Asia  Minor.  To 
it  came  many  pilgrims  every  year,  to  whom  Ephesian  silversmiths 
sold  little  replicas  of  the  temple.  It  was  because  Christianity 
became  so  popular  through  the  preaching  of  Paul  that  the  profitable 

1  See  De  Neocoria,  p.  38. 

2  See  Ramsay  in  Hastings’  Dictionary  of  the  Bible.  Ill,  750. 

3  Wood,  Discoveries  at  Ephesus,  London,  1877.  See  Fig.  279. 

4  Hogarth,  Excavations  at  Ephesus,  London,  1908. 


224 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


sale  of  these  shrines  was  interfered  with,  that  the  riot  in  Ephesus 
occurred  as  described  in  Acts  19  :  23-41. 

Before  Mr.  Wood  had  discovered  the  site  of  the  temple  he  had 
discovered  the  theater  within  the  limits  of  the  ancient  city.  This 
has  been  examined  more  thoroughly  by  the  Austrian,  Dr.  Wiberg, 
who,  beginning  in  1894,  conducted  excavations  at  Ephesus  for  many 
years.  All  the  lower  parts  of  this  theater  still  remain  (see  Figs.  280, 
281)  and  bring  vividly  to  the  imagination  the  assembly  held  in  it  on 
the  occasion  of  the  riot  just  referred  to.  (See  Acts  19  :  29-41.) 
The  Austrians  have  also  laid  bare  a  considerable  part  of  the  central 
street  of  the  Ephesus  of  Roman  times;  (see  Fig.  278). 

A  little  to  the  north  of  the  theater  is  the  ancient  stadium.  Some 
scholars  think  that  when  Paul  says  in  1  Cor.  15  :  32,  “If  after  the 
manner  of  men  I  fought  with  beasts  at  Ephesus,”  he  is  speaking  of 
an  incident  that  literally  occurred,  and  suppose  that  he  was  actu¬ 
ally  condemned  to  be  thrown  to  the  beasts  in  the  stadium,  to  make  a 
spectacle  for  the  Ephesian  populace,  and  that  in  some  way  he  es¬ 
caped  alive.  It  is  possible  that  this  may  be  true.  If  so,  this  sta¬ 
dium  (see  Fig.  282)  presents  to  the  eye  a  spot  which  is  of  great  in¬ 
terest  to  every  Christian. 

Ephesus,  as  the  mother-church  of  the  churches  of  Asia,  is  the  first 
one  to  which  in  the  book  of  Revelation  a  letter  is  addressed.  By 
the  time  Revelation  was  written  the  first  glow  of  Christian  enthusi¬ 
asm  had  worn  off,  gnostic  heresy  had  found  a  place  in  the  Church, 
and  its  “first  love”  was  gone. 

(2)  Pergamum ,  the  modern  Bergama,  lay  in  the  valley  of  the 
Caicus  in  Mysia,  about  fifteen  miles  from  the  sea.  The  city  was 
built  on  a  hill  about  three  miles  north  of  the  river.  It  was  appar¬ 
ently  a  place  of  some  importance  at  a  comparatively  early  date, 
but  its  chief  importance  began  with  the  reign  of  Philetaerus,  who 
made  it  an  independent  kingdom  and  ruled  it  from  284-263  b.  c. 
Philetaerus  had  been  a  trusted  servant  of  Lysimachus,  King  of 
Thrace,  one  of  the  trusted  generals  of  Alexander  the  Great.  Under 
the  dynasty  founded  by  Philetaerus,  Pergamum  became  one  of  the 
chief  seats  of  Hellenic  culture.  Eumenes  I  (263-241  b.  c.)  endeav¬ 
ored  to  make  Pergamum  a  rival  of  Alexandria  as  a  literary  center, 
and  when  the  king  of  Egypt  forbade  the  exportation  of  papyrus  in 
order  to  check  the  literary  aspirations  of  Pergamum,  the  servants 
of  Eumenes  invented  a  prepared  kind  of  skin  on  which  to  write. 
It  was  called  pergamena,  but  time  has  corrupted  it  to  “parchment.” 


ATHENS,  CORINTH,  CHURCHES  OF  ASIA  225 


In  the  course  of  the  second  century  before  Christ  the  kingdom  of 
Pergamum  included  all  of  western  Asia  Minor  north  of  the  Taurus. 
When  in  133  b.  c.  Attalus  III,  the  last  of  the  kings  of  Pergamum, 
died,  he  left  his  kingdom  by  will  to  the  Roman  republic,  with  which 
Pergamum  had  long  been  in  alliance.  Rome  thus  came  into  pos¬ 
session  of  her  Province  of  Asia,  the  first  of  her  Oriental  provinces. 
Pergamum  was  its  capital,  certainly  until  the  reign  of  Claudius,  and 
probably  until  the  second  century  a.  d.  The  Romans  regarded 
themselves  as  the  patrons  of  Hellenic  culture  in  the  East  and  for 
centuries  kept  Pergamum  the  beautiful  city  which  the  Pergamene 
kings  had  made  it.  Bergama,  the  squalid  modern  Turkish  city, 
lies  apart  from  the  splendid  ruins  of  the  ancient  town;  (see  Fig. 
283). 

More  than  thirty  years  ago  the  Germans  began  to  explore  and 
to  excavate  at  Pergamum,1  and  the  Museum  at  Berlin  is  enriched 
with  many  beautiful  objects  found  there.  The  visitor  to  Perga¬ 
mum  may  still  see,  however,  the  great  gymnasium  with  many  grace¬ 
ful  columns  still  standing.  Above  it,  on  a  higher  slope,  are  the  sites 
of  theaters  and  temples,  and  the  great  altar  of  Zeus.  Farther 
up  the  hill  stood  the  temple  of  Athenae  Polias,  which  was  also  a 
library,  and  above  this  the  temple  of  Rome  and  of  Augustus. 

In  Rev.  2  :  13  the  church  at  Pergamum  is  said  to  dwell  where 
“Satan’s  throne  is.”  Interpreters  have  been  divided  in  opinion 
as  to  whether  this  is  a  reference  to  the  worship  of  ^Esculapius,  or  to 
the  presence  of  the  great  throne-like  altar  of  Zeus,  or  to  the  fact  that 
Pergamum  was  the  seat  of  the  worship  of  the  Roman  emperor.2 
On  the  whole,  it  seems  probable  that  “Satan’s  throne”  is  a  reference 
to  the  fact  that  Pergamum  was  the  seat  of  the  government  and  of 
the  worship  of  the  emperor  of  Rome.  When  Augustus  inaugurated 
emperor- worship  in  order  to  give  the  empire  a  bond  of  common  sen¬ 
timent,  the  first  temple  of  the  cult  was  erected  at  Pergamum. 
This  was  in  29  b.  c.  Under  Vespasian  and  his  successors  it  became 
a  test  of  one’s  Christianity  whether  he  would  or  would  not3  offer 
incense  to  the  statue  of  the  emperor,  and  Christians  were  often 
persecuted  because  they  would  not.  It  is  probable  that  in  the 


1  See  Couze  (and  others),  Ausgrabungen  zu  Pergamos,  Berlin,  1880,  and  Thramer,  Pergamos, 
Leipzig,  1888;  also  F.  E.  Clark,  The  Holy  Land  of  Asia  Minor,  New  York,  1914,  p.  67,  f. 

2  See  Bousset,  Die  Ojfenbarung  des  Johannes,  Gottingen,  1896,  p.  245,  ff.;  Ramsay,  The  Letters 
to  the  Seven  Churches,  New  York,  1905,  283,  ff.,  and  Moffat  in  The  Expositor’s  Greek  Testament, 
Vol.  V,  New  York,  1910,  p.  355,  f. 

3  See  Ramsay,  The  Church  and  the  Roman  Empire,  New  York,  1893,  p.  252,  f. 


226 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


remains  of  the  temple  to  the  emperor  archaeologists  have  brought 
to  light  Satan’s  throne.  If,  however,  that  throne  were  the  altar  of 
Zeus,  it  has  nevertheless  been  brought  to  light. 

(3)  Thyatira,  the  modern  Ak-Hissar,  lay  in  a  valley  which  joined 
the  valley  of  the  Hermus  to  the  valley  of  the  Caicus.  The  general 
direction  of  this  valley  was  north  and  south.  It  was  made  an  im¬ 
portant  city  by  Seleucus  I  of  Syria  (312-282  b.  c.)  in  the  latter  part 
of  his  reign.  Before  this  it  had  been  an  obscure  village.  Josephus 
declares1  that  Seleucus  made  Jews  citizens  of  the  cities  which  he 
founded  in  Asia,  and  apparently  Thyatira  was  one  of  these,  for 
there  appears  to  have  been  a  flourishing  Jewish  colony  there.  A 
little  later  than  Seleucus,  Thyatira  became  a  city  of  Pergamum, 
and  passed  in  133  b.  c.  with  the  territories  of  that  realm  under  the 
dominion  of  Rome.  Thyatira  was  noted  for  its  dyeing.  Madder 
root,  with  which  they  dyed  a  Turkey-red,  grows  abundantly  in  the 
neighborhood.2  As  the  ancients  employed  the  names  of  colors  with 
great  laxity,  this  was  often  termed  purple.  Lydia,  an  enterprising 
seller  of  this  purple,  a  Jewess  from  Thyatira,  was  present  at  Philippi 
when  Paul  and  Silas  preached  there  (Acts  16  :  14).  Lydia  was 
converted,  and  perhaps  it  was  she  who  carried  the  Gospel  back  to 
Thyatira.  Nothing  has  been  discovered  at  Thyatira  that  throws 
light  on  the  message  to  its  church  in  Rev.  2  :  18-29. 

(4)  Sardis  was  one  of  the  oldest  cities  of  western  Asia.  It  is 
situated  on  the  south  side  of  the  great  valley  of  the  Hermus,  just 
at  the  point  where  the  river  Pactolus  issues  from  the  Tmolus  moun¬ 
tains.  Pottery  found  in  the  course  of  excavations  there  carries  its 
history  back  to  sub-Mycenaean,  if  not  to  Mycenaean,  times.3  It 
was  the  seat  of  the  worship  of  Atys  or  Cybele,  a  goddess  that  seems 
to  have  been  kindred  to  the  mother-goddess  of  the  Hittites.  It  is 
probable  that,  could  we  penetrate  back  far  enough,  we  should  find 
that  the  place  was  once  occupied  by  Hittites.  Herodotus  traces  the 
descent  of  the  first  dynasty  that  ruled  over  the  country  to  the  god-* 
dess  just  mentioned.4  Following  this  dynasty  was,  he  says,  another 
of  twenty-one  kings  who  ruled  before  the  dynasty  founded  by  Gyges. 
The  Lydian  kingdom  of  which  we  know  began  with  Gyges  in  697 
b.  c.  and  ended  with  Croesus  in  546  b.  c.  Lydian  inscriptions  found 
at  Sardis  are  written  in  the  same  alphabet  as  Etruscan  inscriptions 

1  Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  Jews,  XII,  iii,  1. 

2  See  Ramsay,  Letters  to  the  Seven  Churches,  p.  325,  ff. 

8  See  Butler  in  American  Journal  of  Archaeology,  2d  series,  Vol.  XVIII,  1914,  p.  428. 

4  Book,  I,  7. 


ATHENS,  CORINTH,  CHURCHES  OF  ASIA  227 


found  in  Italy.  This  indicates  that  the  Lydians  and  Etruscans  were 
closely  akin,  but,  as  the  inscriptions  have  not  yet  been  deciphered, 
they  do  not  throw  much  light  on  either  people.1  It  is  possible  that 
both  peoples  were  related  to  the  Hittites,  but  that  is  at  present  only 
a  hypothesis. 

The  mountains  to  the  south  of  Sardis  are  composed  largely  of 
gravel  deposits  left  there  by  the  melting  of  the  glaciers  at  the  end  of 
the  last  glacial  period.  From  these  gravels  the  Pactolus  brought 
down  gold  in  ancient  times.  This  was  one  of  the  sources  of  the 
wealth  of  the  Lydian  kings,  and  contributed  to  those  riches  which 
are  still  celebrated  in  the  saying:  “As  rich  as  Croesus.” 

The  Lydian  kingdom  fell  when  Cyrus  captured  Sardis  in  546 
b.  c.  With  the  fall  of  the  Persian  empire  the  city  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Alexander  the  Great,  and  subsequently  into  the  hands  of 
his  general,  Antigonous,  then  to  the  Seleucidae  of  Syria,  then  to  the 
kings  of  Pergamum,  and  so  to  the  dominion  of  Rome. 

In  17  a.  d.  Sardis  was  shaken  by  a  great  earthquake  which  nearly 
destroyed  the  city.  A  mass  of  gravel  and  conglomerate  rock  was 
then  hurled  from  the  hill  of  the  Acropolis  of  Sardis  down  into  the 
city  toward  the  temple,  where  the  work  of  the  excavator  shows  that 
it  still  lies.2  A  part  of  the  city  must  have  been  buried  under  it. 
The  city  recovered  from  this  disaster  and  by  the  end  of  the  first 
century  a  Christian  church  existed  there  (Rev.  3  :  1-6).  Sardis 
continued  to  be  a  city  of  importance  until  1400-1403  A.  d.,  when  the 
Tartar  conqueror,  Timur  or  Tamerlane,  swept  over  the  country 
destroying  everything  before  him.  From  this  destruction  Sardis 
never  recovered.  Two  or  three  tiny  wretched  Turkish  villages  are 
now  all  that  occupy  the  spot.3 

The  Acropolis  of  Sardis  was  composed  of  gravel  and  a  compara¬ 
tively  soft  conglomerate  rock.  It  looks  imposing  and  in  ancient 
times  looked  far  more  imposing  than  now.  It  has  been  gradually 
crumbling  away  through  the  centuries.  Ramsay  thinks  that  this 
instability  on  the  part  of  the  city  itself  is  alluded  to  in  the  words, 
“thou  hast  a  name  that  thou  livest,  and  thou  art  dead”  and  in  the 
exhortation  to  be  watchful  and  to  strengthen  the  things  that  remain, 
which  follows  it  (Rev.  3  :  1,  2);  (see  Fig.  284). 

Excavations  were  begun  at  Sardis  by  Princeton  University  under 

1  See  Herbig’s  article,  “Etruscan  Religion,”  in  Hastings’  Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics, 
Vol.  V,  New  York,  1912,  p.  532,  ff. 

2  American  Journal  of  Archeology ,  Vol.  XVII,  1912,  p.  474. 

*  Barton,  A  Year’s  Wandering  in  Bible  Lands,  76-79. 


228 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


the  direction  of  Prof.  Howard  Crosby  Butler  in  1909,  and  the  dig¬ 
ging  continued  for  five  seasons  until  interrupted  by  the  great  war.1 
The  work  began  at  the  point  where  two  columns  of  the  ancient  tem¬ 
ple  of  Cybele  were  still  protruding  from  the  soil.  The  temple  has 
been  cleared  and  a  considerable  area  around  it  has  been  examined. 
It  appears  that  the  temple  was  built  in  the  fourth  century  b.  c., 
that  it  suffered  greatly  in  the  earthquake  of  17  a.  d.,  and  never  was 
as  splendid  afterwards,  though  it  was  still  in  use  in  the  second 
century  a.  d.2  Many  objects  have  been  discovered  which  throw 
light  upon  the  history  and  art  of  Lydia,  and  two  bi-lingual  inscrip¬ 
tions,  one  Lydian  and  Aramaic,  the  other  Lydian  and  Greek,  were 
found.  These  may  afford  the  key  to  the  decipherment  of  both 
Lydian  and  Etruscan.  Jewelry  resembling  Etruscan  jewelry 
found  in  Italy  was  also  discovered.3 

To  the  student  of  the  Bible  the  most  interesting  discovery  at 
Sardis  was  a  little  Christian  church  built  at  the  southeast  corner 
of  the  temple.4  The  entrance  to  this  church  was  from  the  temple 
platform  itself.  The  structure  was  entirely  of  brick  and  was  in  a 
remarkably  good  state  of  preservation.  The  building  had  appar¬ 
ently  lost  only  its  wooden  roof.  The  apse  of  the  church  was 
toward  the  east,  and  still  contained  its  primitive  altar.  It  is  un¬ 
certain  at  what  date  altars  became  a  part  of  Christian  worship. 
Origen  in  the  third  century  a.  d.  admits  the  charge  of  Celsus  that 
the  Christians  had  no  visible  altar,5  but  Eusebius6  in  the  next  cen¬ 
tury  speaks  as  though  altars  existed  throughout  the  Christian  world. 
This  church  at  Sardis  was  built  after  the  temple  of  Cybele  had 
fallen  into  disuse,  and  even  if  not  earlier  than  the  fourth  century  of 
our  era,  this  little  structure  is  evidence  that  the  name  of  the  church 
had  not  been  blotted  out  of  the  book  of  life  (Rev.  3:5),  but  that  it 
had  rather  appropriated  to  itself  the  once  splendid  precincts  of  the 
ancient  heathen  goddess. 

(5)  Philadelphia  was  situated  twenty-eight  miles  east  of  Sardis, 
and  lay  in  the  valley  of  the  Cogamis,  a  tributary  of  the  Hermus. 
It  is  still  a  flourishing  city  of  about  15,000  inhabitants.  It  is  now 
called  Ala-Sheher.7  It  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  Philadel¬ 
phia  of  the  Decapolis  in  Palestine.8 

1  See  American  Journal  of  Archaeology,  Vols.  XIV-XVIII,  and  Fig.  285. 

2  Ibid.,  XV,  452.  _  _  3  Ibid.,  XV,  457.  <  Ibid.,  XVI,  475,  ff.,  and  Fig.  286. 

5  See  “Altar  (Christian)”  in  Hastings’  Encyclopaedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,  Vol.  I,  p.  338,  f. 

6  Ecclesiastical  History,  X,  4. 

7  See  Barton,  A  Year's  Wandering  in  Bible  Lands,  p.  71.  8  See  Chapter  XIV,  p.  217,  f. 


ATHENS,  CORINTH,  CHURCHES  OF  ASIA  229 


Philadelphia  was  founded  by  Attalus  II,  King  of  Pergamum, 
159-138  b.  c.,  who  was  called  Philadelphus  because  of  his  devotion 
to  his  predecessor  and  brother,  Eumenes  II.  Hence  the  city  was 
named  Philadelphia.  It  was  founded  for  the  purpose  of  spreading 
Hellenism  in  the  eastern  part  of  Lydia,  and  so  was  a  missionary  city 
from  the  first.  With  the  other  Pergamene  territories  it  became  a 
dependency  of  Rome  in  133  b.  c.  In  17  a.  d.  it  suffered  severely 
from  the  same  earthquake  that  destroyed  Sardis.  Indeed,  at 
Philadelphia  the  quakings  were  even  more  severe.  The  trembling 
of  the  earth  lasted  for  a  long  time.  When  Strabo  wrote  in  20  a.  d. 
earthquake  shocks  at  Philadelphia  were  an  every-day  occurrence. 
Few  people  lived  in  the  city;  most  of  the  inhabitants  spent  their  time 
outside.1  Allusion  to  this  is,  perhaps,  made  in  Rev.  3  :  12:  “he 
shall  go  out  thence  no  more/’ 

After  the  earthquake  the  city  appealed  to  Rome  for  help.  Tibe¬ 
rius  granted  it  and  also  permitted  the  city  to  change  its  name  to 
Neocaesarea,  or  the  city  of  the  young  Caesar.2  This,  too,  seems  to  be 
alluded  to  in  Rev.  3  :  12,  where  another  new  name  is  to  be  conferred. 

At  Ala-Sheher  a  part  of  the  city  wall  of  Philadelphia  may  still  be 
traced,  and  the  sites  of  the  acropolis,  the  theater,  and  the  stadium 
may  also  be  seen,  as  well  as  the  ruins  of  an  old  Christian  church.3 

(6)  Smyrna ,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hermus,  is  one  of  the  very  old 
cities  of  Asia  Minor.  A  colony  of  /Eolian  Greeks  founded  a  city 
here  more  than  a  thousand  years  before  Christ.  A  little  later  the 
place  was  captured  by  Ionian  Greeks,  who  held  it  till  about  600  b.  c., 
when  it  was  conquered  by  the  kings  of  Lydia  and  destroyed.4  For 
three  hundred  years  the  name  designated  a  district  rather  than  a 
city.  Lysimachus,  the  general  of  Alexander  the  Great  who  became 
king  of  Thrace  (301-282  b.  c.),  refounded  Smyrna  as  a  Greek  city 
about  three  miles  southwest  of  the  old  site,  and  it  has  continued 
ever  since  to  be  an  important  seaport  of  Asia  Minor.  It  passed 
with  the  other  cities  of  the  region  successively  under  the  sway  of 
the  kings  of  Syria,  the  kings  of  Pergamum,  and  of  Rome.  Smyrna 
is  today  one  of  the  largest  cities  of  the  East  with  a  population  of 
between  two  and  three  hundred  thousand. 

Smyrna  claimed  to  be  the  birthplace  of  Homer.  /Elius  Aristides 
(born  117  a.  d.),  who  lived  at  Smyrna,  several  times  likens  the  city 

1  Ramsay,  Letters  ter  the  Seven  Churches,  407,  ff. 

2  Ibid.,  410,  ff. 

1  See  Curtius,  Philadelphia,  Berlin,  1873,  and  Barton,  A  Year’s  Wandering  in  Bible  Lands,  79,  ff. 

4  Ramsay,  Letters  to  the  Seven  Churches,  25,  1. 


230 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


to  a  crown,  and  apparently  the  crown  was  in  some  way  associated 
with  Smyrna;  (see  Fig.  287).  The  goddess  of  the  place,  who  was 
a  kind  of  Cybele,  is  pictured  as  wearing  a  crown.1  This  is,  no  doubt, 
the  reason  why  in  Rev.  2  :  10  a  crown  of  life  is  promised  to  the 
church  of  Smyrna  if  she  is  faithful.  No  excavations  have  been 
made  at  Smyrna,  but  above  the  city  the  tomb  of  Polycarp,2  said  in 
tradition  to  have  been  a  disciple  of  the  Apostle  John,  is  shown. 
Polycarp  was  martyred  in  155  A.  d.  in  one  of  those  times  of  tribula¬ 
tion  predicted  in  Rev.  2  :  10. 

(7)  Laodicea  is  situated  a  hundred  miles  east  of  Ephesus,  in  the 
valley  of  the  Lycus,  where  the  Lycus  empties  into  the  Maeander. 
It  was  founded  by  Antiochus  II  of  Syria,  261-246  b.  c.,3  and  named 
for  his  wife.  Like  Philadelphia,  it  was  designed  to  be  a  missionary 
of  Hellenism  to  the  country  of  the  region.  Like  the  other  Hellenic 
cities  it  was  beautified  with  temples,  theaters,  and  colonnaded 
streets.  Later  Laodicea  passed  under  the  control  of  Pergamum,  and 
with  that  kingdom  fell  to  Rome  in  133  b.  c.  An  influential  element 
in  its  population  was  Jewish,  and  before  Paul’s  imprisonment  in 
Rome  a  Christian  church  had  been  founded  there  (Col.  4  :  13). 
The  city  of  Laodicea  appears  to  have  been  devoted  to  commerce  and 
to  material  things.  In  Rev.  3  :  15  its  church  is  said  to  have  been 
lukewarm.  Except  that  its  lukewarmness  may  have  come  from  its 
commercial  spirit,  there  is  nothing  in  the  history  or  archaeology  of 
the  city  that  illustrates  the  letter4  to  it  in  Rev.  3  :  14-22. 

The  site  of  Laodicea  is  now  almost  deserted.  Only  the  wretched 
Turkish  village  of  Eski  Hissar  represents  habitation,  but  hundreds 
of  acres  are  covered  with  the  ruins  of  the  once  splendid  city.  For 
hundreds  of  years  the  villagers  of  neighboring  hamlets  have  used 
the  place  as  a  quarry,  but  nevertheless  its  ruins  are  impressive. 
Two  theaters  are  in  a  fairly  good  state  of  preservation;  the  seats  are 
still  in  place.5  The  stadium  is  in  a  similar  condition  of  preserva¬ 
tion.  Its  aqueduct  and  its  gates  are  still  imposing  in  their  dilapi¬ 
dation,  but  the  desolation  of  Laodicea  recalls  the  words:  “I  will 
spew  thee  out  of  my  mouth”  (Rev.  3  :  16);  (see  Fig.  288). 

1  See  Ramsay,  Letters  to  the  Seven  Churches ,  257  and  274,  ff. 

2  See  Barton,  A  Year’s  Wandering  in  Bible  Lands,  p.  82. 

*  See  Ramsay,  The  Cities  and  Bishoprics  of  Phrygia,  Oxford,  1895,  p.  32,  f. 

4  See  Ramsay,  Letters  to  the  Seven  Churches,  424,  ff. 

6  See  F.  E.  Clark,  The  Holy  Land  of  Asia  Minor,  New  York,  1914,  p.  145,  f. 


PART  II 

TRANSLATIONS  OF  ANCIENT  DOCUMENTS 
WHICH  CONFIRM  OR  ILLUMINATE  THE 
BIBLE 


231 


FOREWORD 


As  noted  in  the  Preface,  the  inferences  drawn  by  different  schol¬ 
ars,  when  they  compare  the  Bible  with  the  records  brought  to  light 
by  exploration,  diverge  according  as  their  critical  and  theological 
views  differ.  In  the  comments  made  throughout  Part  II,  as  in 
Part  I,  the  writer  has  endeavored  to  maintain  a  neutral  attitude 
and  impartially  to  report  in  each  case  the  principal  inferences 
drawn  by  the  most  important  groups  of  scholars,  that  the  reader 
may  know  something  of  the  latitude  of  opinion  that  prevails.  To 
have  recorded  every  opinion  would  have  expanded  the  work  far 
beyond  the  limits  prescribed,  and  would  have  burdened  the  reader 
with  many  views  that  are  mere  vagaries.  The  temptation  is 
always  strong  to  declare  that  the  interpretation  of  an  ancient 
record  which  accords  with  one’s  own  views  must  be  right,  but 
unfortunately  problems  in  ancient  history  that  are  thus  dogmat¬ 
ically  settled  do  not  remain  settled.  A  deeper  faith,  confident  in 
the  ultimate  triumph  of  truth,  patiently  awaits  further  light. 


233 


CHAPTER  I 


AN  EPIC  OF  THE  CREATION  WHICH  CIRCULATED 
IN  BABYLON  AND  ASSYRIA  IN  THE  SEVENTH  CEN¬ 
TURY  BEFORE  CHRIST1 

Text  of  the  Epic.  Comparison  of  the  Epic  with  the  First  Chapter  of  Genesis. 

The  Epic  and  Other  Parts  of  the  Bible. 


I.  Text  of  the  Epic. 

Tablet  I 

1.  Time  was  when  above  heaven  was  not  named 

2.  Below  to  the  earth  no  name  was  given. 

3.  Then  the  primeval  Abyss  their  begetter, 

4.  The  roaring  Sea  who  bore  them, — 

5.  Their  waters  together  were  mingled; 

6.  No  field  had  been  formed,  no  marsh-land  seen. 

7.  Time  was  when  gods  had  not  been  made, 

8.  No  name  was  named,  <  no  destiny  [determined]; 

9.  Then  were  created  the  gods  in  the  midst  [of  heaven]. 

10.  Lakhmu  and  Lakhamu  were  formed  [together]. 

II.  Ages  multiplied,  . 

12.  Anshar  and  Kishar  were  created,  and  over  them . 

13.  Days  were  prolonged,  there  came  forth. . . . 

14.  Anu,  their  son . 

15.  Anshar  and  Anu . 

16.  And  the  god  Anu . 

17.  Nudimmud  whose  fathers,  his, begetters . 

18.  Abounding  in  wisdom,  "  understanding . 

19.  He  was  strong  exceedingly . 

20.  And  he  had  no  rival . 

21.  They  were  established  and . 

22.  In  confusion  were  T[iamat  and  Apsu]2 . 

23.  They  were  troubled . 

24.  In  sin  (?) . 

25.  Apsu  was  not  diminished . 

26.  Tiamat  roared . 

27.  She  smote  and  their  deeds . 


Other  translations  of  this  epic  have  been  made.  The  most  important  are  as  follows: 
Zimmern,  in  Gunkel’s  Schopfung  uni  Chaos,  pp.  401,  ff.;  Delitzsch,  Das  Babylonische  Welt- 
schopfungsepos  (Abhandlungen  der  sachsischen  Gesellschaft  der  Wissenschaften,  Bd.  XVII, 
1896);  Muss-Arnolt,  in  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  Literature,  Aldine  ed.,  edited  by  R.  F. 
Harper;  Jensen  in  Schrader’s  Keilinschriftliche  Bibliothek,  Bd.  VI;  L.  W.  King,  The  Seven 
Tablets  of  Creation;  Dhorme,  Choix  de  textes  religieux  assyrobabyloniens ;  Ungnad,  in  Gressman’s 
Altorientalische  Texte  und  Bilder  mm  Alten  Testament;  Rogers,  Cuneiform  Parallels  to  the  Old 
Testament.  A  fragment  of  this  tablet  is  shown  in  Fig.  290. 

2  That  is,  Sea  and  Abyss,  mentioned  in  lines  3  and  4.  Apsu  was  the  waters  underneath  the 
dry  land  and  Tiamat  the  salt  sea. 


235 


236 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


28.  Their  way  was  not  good;  they  themselves  prospered. 

29.  Then  Apsu,  the  begetter  of  the  great  gods, 

30.  Cried  to  Mummu,  his  minister,  and  said, 

31.  O  Mummu,  my  minister,  who  delightest  my  heart, 

32.  Come,  unto  Tiamat  [let  us  go]. 

33.  They  went,  before  Tiamat  they  lay  down, 

34.  A  plan  they  formed  against  the  gods  [their  offspring]. 

35.  [Apsu]  opened  his  mouth,  [he  said  to  her], 

36.  Unto  Tiamat,  the  brilliant,  a  word  he  spoke: 

37.  “[Intolerable  to  me]  is  their  advancement, 

38.  By  day  I  have  no  rest,  at  night,  no  peace. 

39.  But  I  will 'destroy  their  way,  an  end  will  I  make. 

40.  Let  there  be  a  cry,  then  we  may  be  at  peace!” 

41.  When  Tiamat  heard  these  words, 

42.  She  was  angry  and  spoke  against  them  [a  curse]; 

43.  [She  was]  grievously  [pained]  she  raged . . . 

44.  A  curse- she  let  fall,  unto  [Apsu  she  spoke]: 

45.  “What  are  we  that  we  [should  perish]! 

46.  Let  their  way  become  difficult.” . 

47.  Mummu  answered,  Apsu  [he  counseled] 

48 . not  favorable  was  the  counsel  of  the  Roarer: 

49.  “Their  way  is  strong,  but  do  thou  confound  [it], 

50.  By  day  thou  shalt  be  calm,  by  night  thou  shalt  lie  down.” 

51.  Apsu  heard  and  his  face  brightened, 

52.  [Since]  he  planned  evil  against  the  gods,  his  sons, 

53 . [clasped his  neck], 

54.  [He  took  him  on]  his  knees  and  kissed  him. 

55.  [They 'under took,  the  evil  which]  together  they  had  planned. 

56.  . . they . 

57 . . . 

58.  A  cry;  a  cry . in  stillness  they*sat  ^ 

59 . . . . 

60.  Ea  the  wise  went  up,  he  saw  their  horrors.  (?), 

(More*  than  thirty  lines  here  are  too  broken  for  connected  translation.) 


93  . thy . they  subjugated, 

94  . weeps  (?)  and  sits  wailing. 

95  . of  fear, 

96  . not.  shall  we  ourselves  rest. 

97  . Apsu  laid  waste, 

98.  He  and  Mummu  who  were  bound  in . 

99 . quickly  thou  shalt  go 

100  . we  ourselves  may  rest. 

101  . 

102  . we  ourselves  may  rest. 

103  . . their  mercy  avenge! 

104  . to  the  storm . . 

105  . the  word  of  the  bright  god, 

106  . what  thou  givest,  we  will  indeed  do! 

107  . the  gods  in . . 

108  . the  gods  [she]  created. 

109.  They  separated  themselves,  to  the  side  of  Tiamat  they  came; 

110.  They  raged,  they  planned,  they  rested  not  night  or  day. 

111.  They  prepared  for  battle,  fuming,  raging; 


AN  EPIC  OF  THE  CREATION 


237 


112.  Their  assemblage  was  formed  and  they  began  war. 

113.  Mother  Khubur,  who  formed  all  things, 

114.  Made  unrivaled  weapons,  spawned  great  serpents, 

115.  Sharp  of  tooth,  unsparing  of  fang; 

116.  With  poison  instead  of  blood  their  bodies  she  filled. 

117.  Fierce  dragons  with  terror  she  clothed, 

118.  Luster  she  made  abundant,  to  loftiness  made  them  equal. 

119.  Whoever  beheld  them,  terror  (?)  overcame  him; 

120.  Their  bodies  they  reared  up  without  turning  their  breast. 

121.  She  established  vipers,  serpents,  and  Lakhami,1 

122.  Hurricanes,  raging  hounds,  scorpion-men, 

123.  Mighty  storms,  fish-men,  and  rams  (?); 

124.  They  bore  merciless  weapons,  fearless  of  battle. 

125.  Her  behests  were  mighty;  without  rival  were  they. 

126.  Moreover  eleven  such  as  these  she  created. 

127.  Among  the  gods,  her  firstborn,  who  at  her  side  gathered, 

128.  She  exalted  Kingu,  made  him  great  in  their 'midst, 

129.  To  march  before  the  forces,  to  lead  the  host, 

130.  To  raise  the  conquering  weapon,  to  lead  the  attack, 

131.  To  direct  the  battle,  as  commander-in-chief; 

132.  To  him  she  entrusted  it,  made  him  sit  in  purple  (?) : 

133.  “Thy  spell  I  have  uttered;  in  the  assembly  of  gods  I  have  made  thee 

great. 

134.  The  sovereignty  of  all  the  gods,  I  have  placed  in  thy  hand 

135.  Surely  thou  art  exalted,  my  only  spouse! 

136.  May  they  magnify  thy  name  over  all  the  Anunnaki.” 

137.  She  gave  him  the  tablets  of  destiny,  on  his  breast  she  laid  them: 

138.  Thy  command  shall  be  unalterable,  established,  thy  word.” 

139.  Now  Kingu  was  exalted,  he  received  the  highest  rank, 

140.  Among  the  gods,  his  sons,  he  fixed  fate: 

141.  “The  opening  of  your  mouth  shall  quench  the  fire-god; 

142.  Who  so  is  exalted  in  excellence,  let  him  increase  in  might.” 

Tablet  II 

1.  Tiamat  made  mighty  her  work 

2.  [Evil]  she  cherished  against  the  gods,  her  offspring. 

3.  [To  avenge]  Apsu,  Tiamat  planned  evil. 

4.  Her  [forces]  how  she  joined,  to  Ea  was  divulged. 

5.  Ea  [hearkened]  to  this  thing, 

6.  He  was  thrown  into  [great]  straits,  he  sat  in  silence. 

7.  [The  days]  went  by;  his  anger  was  appeased, 

8.  [To  the  place]  of  Anshar,  his  father,  he  proceeded. 

9.  [He  went]  before  the  father  who  begat  him,  Anshar, 

10.  [All  that]  Tiamat  had  planned  he  repeated  unto  him. 

11.  “Tiamat,  our  mother,  has  come  to  hate  us; 

12.  Her  assembly  is  set;  with  rage  she  is  hot; 

13.  Turned  unto  her  are  the  gods,  all  of  them, 

14.  With  those  ye  created,  they  walk  at  her  side. 

15.  They  have  separated  themselves;  at  the  side  of  Tiamat  they  go; 

16.  They  rage,  they  plan;  they  rest  not  day  or  night.” 

(Lines  17-48  continue  the  literal  repetition  of  lines  109-142  of  the  first  tablet 
which  was  begun  in  lines  15,  16.  After  this  the  narrative  continues:) 

1 1.  e.,  the  spirits  of  earth. 


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49.  [When  Anshar  heard  how  Tiamat]  was  greatly  in  disorder, 

50.  [He  smote  his  breast],  he  bit  his  lip, 

51.  [His  mind  was  disturbed],  his  heart  was  not  at  rest, 

52 . his  cry  was  wrung  from  him. 

53.  [Away  Ea,  my  son,  go  forth  to]  battle! 

54 . my  work  (?)  thou  shalt  establish! 

55.  [Mummu  and]  Apsu  thou  hast  already  struck  down. 

56.  [Kill  also  Ivinjgu  who  comes  up  before  her 

57  . deliberation. 

58  . gods  Nudimmud. 

(A  break  of  ten  or  twelve  lines  occurs  at  this  point  in  the  tablet.) 

72.  [Anshar]  spoke  to  his  son  [a  word]: 

73.  “Thou,  this  [son  of  mine],  my  warrior, 

74.  [Whose  strength  is  mighty],  whose  attack  irresistible, 

75.  [Go],  stand  before  Tiamat, 

76.  [That]  her  wrath  [may  be  appeased],  her  heart  softened, 

77.  [But  if]  she  will  not  hearken  to  thy  word, 

78.  Our  [word]  shalt  thou  speak  to  her,  that  she  may  be  appeased.” 

79.  [He  heard]  the  utterance  of  his  father  Anshar, 

80.  He  took  the  straight  path  to  her,  he  entered  the  way. 

81.  Anu  [drew  near],  he  beheld  the  terror  (?)  of  Tiamat, 

82.  [He  did  not  ascend  to  her  presence],  but  turned  back, 

83.  [Then  turned  he  to  Ea  and  called]  him,  he,  Anshar, 

84.  [Opened  his  mouth]  and  spoke  to  him, 

85.  [“Hateful  are  the  ways  of  Tiamat]  to  me.” 

(Some  twenty  lines  here  are  too  fragmentary  for  translation.) 

108.  [Ea  opened  his  mouth  (?)]  and  spoke  to  him: 

109.  [“Marduk,  my  son,  hear  the  word  of]  thy  father. 

110.  Thou  art  he,  my  son,  who  canst  enlarge  his  heart. 


111  . to  the  battle  draw  nigh, 

112  . [to]  Emarukka1  give  peace.” 


113.  Then  the  lord  rejoiced  at  the  words  of  his  father; 

1 14.  He  drew  near  and  stood  before  Anshar. 

115.  Anshar  beheld  him  and  his  heart  was  filled  with  joy, 

116.  He  kissed  his  lips  and  his  fear  departed  from  him. 

117 . is  not  hidden;  open  thy  lips. 

118.  Verily  I  will  go,  I  will  attain  the  wish  of  thy  heart. 

119 . is  not  concealed;  open  thy  lips. 

120.  Verily  I  will  go,  I  will  attain  the  wish  of  thy  heart. 

121.  Who  is  the  man,  who  would  bring  thee  out  to  his  battle? 

122.  [And  now]  shall  Tiamat,  a  woman,  come  against  thee  with  weapons? 

123 . rejoice  and  exult; 

124.  On  the  neck  of  Tiamat  thou  shalt  shortly  tread. 

125 . rejoice  and  exult; 

126.  On  the  neck  of  Tiamat  thou  shalt  shortly  tread.” 

127.  “My  son,  who  knows  all  wisdom, 

128.  Tiamat  pacify  with  thy  pure  incantation. 

129.  Thy  way  speedily  take; 

130 . thou  shalt  not  fear,  thou  shalt  use  a  spell  afterward.” 

131.  Then  the  lord  rejoiced  at  the  word  of  his  father, 

132.  His  heart  exulted  and  to  his  father  he  spoke: 

1  Another  name  for  Tiamat. 


AN  EPIC  OF  THE  CREATION 


239 


133.  uO  Lord  of  the  gods,  fate  of  the  great  gods, 

134.  If  I  accomplish  your  preservation, 

135.  Take  Tiamat  captive  and  save  your  lives, 

136.  Appoint  an  assembly,  make  my  fate  strong,  let  it  come  in. 

137.  In  Upshukkunnaku  seat  yourselves  joyfully  together, 

138.  The  word  of  my  mouth  shall  determine  fate  instead  of  you. 

139.  Let  there  not  be  changed  whatever  I  create, 

140.  May  the  command  of  my  lips  not  be  altered  or  opposed.’’ 

Tablet  III 

1.  Anshar  opened  his  mouth  and  said, 

2.  [To  Gaga]  his  [messenger]  a  word  he  spoke: 

3.  “[0  Gaga,  thou  messen]ger,  thou  rejoicest  my  heart. 

4.  [To  Lakhmu  and  Lakh]amu  will  I  send  thee; 

5.  [The  desire  of  my  heart]  mayest  thou  attain. 

6 . bring  (?)  before  me. 

7.  [May  there  come]  the  gods,  all  of  them, 

8.  [Let  them  prepare  for  converse],  at  banquets  let  them  sit, 

9.  [Bread  may  they  eat],  wine  may  they  prepare, 

10.  [For  Marduk],  their  [avenger],  let  them  decree  the  fate. 

11.  [Go,  Ga]ga,  before  them  stand, 

12.  [And  all  that]  I  tell  thee  repeat  unto  them 

13.  [Anshar],  your  son,  hath  sent  me, 

14.  [The  purpose  of  his  heart  he]  hath  disclosed  to  me, 

15.  [Saying]:  Tiamat,  who  bore  us,  hates  us, 

16.  An  assemblage  is  appointed,  angrily  she  rages, 

17.  Turned  to  her  are  the  gods,  all  of  them, 

18.  With  those  whom  ye  created,  they  march  at  her  side, 

19.  They  are  rebellious,  at  Tiamat’s  side  they  come, 

20.  They  rage,  they  plot,  they  rest  not  day  nor  night, 

21.  They  prepare  for  battle,  fuming  and  raging, 

22.  An  assembly  is  made,  they  start  a  revolt. 

23.  Mother  Khubur,  who  formed  all  things, 

24.  Has  made  weapons  without  rival,  has  spawned  monster-serpents, 

25.  Sharp  of  tooth,  unsparing  of  fang, 

26.  With  poison  like  blood  their  bodies  she  has  filled; 

27.  Fierce  dragons  with  terror  she  has  clothed, 

28.  Luster  has  made  abundant,  to  loftiness  made  equal. 

29.  Whoever  beholds  them,  terror  (?)  overcomes  him. 

30.  Their  bodies  they  raise  up  without  turning  their  breasts. 

31.  She  has  established  vipers,  serpents,  Lakhami, 

32.  Hurricanes,  raging  hounds,  scorpion-men, 

33.  Mighty  storms,  fish-men,  and  rams; 

34.  They  bear  merciless  weapons,  fearless  of  battle. 

35.  Her  behests  are  mighty,  without  rival  are  they. 

36.  Moreover  eleven  such  as  these  she  has  created. 

37.  Among  the  gods,  her  firstborn,  who  are  gathered  at  her  side, 

38.  She  has  exalted  Kingu,  made  him  great  in  their  midst, 

39.  To  march  before  the  forces,  to  lead  the  host, 

40.  To  raise  the  conquering  weapon,  to  lead  the  attack, 

41.  To  direct  the  battle  as  commander-in-chief; 

42.  To  him  she  has  entrusted  it,  made  him  sit  in  purple,  [saying,] 

43.  ‘Thy  spell  I  have  uttered,  in  the  assembly  of  gods  I  have  made  thee 

great, 


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44.  The  sovereignty  of  all  the  gods  I  have  placed  in  thy  hand, 

45.  Surely  thou  art  exalted,  O  my  spouse! 

46.  May  they  magnify  thy  name  over  all  the  Anunnaki.’ 

47.  She  has  given  him  the  tablets  of  destiny,  on  his  breast  has  laid  them, 

[saying,] 

48.  ‘Thy  command  shall  be  unalterable,  established  be  thy  word.’ 

49.  Now  Kingu  has  been  exalted,  has  received  highest  rank, 

50.  Among  the  gods,  her  sons,  he  fixes  fate,  [saying] : 

51.  ‘The  opening  of  your  mouth  shall  quench  the  fire-god, 

52.  Whoso  is  exalted  in  excellence,  let  him  increase  in  might.’ 

53.  I  sent  Anu;  he  had  no  power  before  her, 

54.  Nudimmud  feared  and  turned  back, 

55.  Marduk  has  set  forth,  the  leader  of  the  gods,  your  son, 

56.  As  a  foe  of  Tiamat  his  heart  prompts  him  to  go.  , 

57.  He  opened  his  mouth  and  spake  to  me,  [saying]: 

58.  ‘If  I  accomplish  your  preservation, 

59.  Take  Tiamat  captive,  and  save  your  lives, 

60.  Appoint  an  assembly,  make  my  fate  strong,  let  it  come  in. 

61.  In  Upshukkunaku  seat  yourselves  joyfully  together, 

62.  The  word  of  my  mouth  shall  determine  fate  instead  of  you. 

63.  Let  there  not  be  changed  whatever  I  create, 

64.  May  there  not  be  altered  or  opposed  the  command  of  my  lips.’ 

65.  Hasten,  therefore,  and  quickly  decree  your  fate, 

66.  That  he  may  go  and  fight  your  strong  enemy.” 

67.  Then  Gaga  went,  his  way  he  pursued, 

68.  To  the  place  of  Lakhmu  and  Lakhamu,  the  gods,  his  fathers; 

69.  He  kissed  the  ground  at  their  feet, 

70.  He  bowed  himself;  he  stood  up,  he  addressed  them,  [saying]: 

71.  “Anshar,  your  son,  hath  sent  me, 

72.  The  purpose  of  his  heart  he  has  disclosed  to  me 

73.  Saying:  Ti&mat,  who  bore  us,  hates  us; 

74.  An  assemblage  is  appointed,  angrily  she  rages, 

75.  Turned  to  her  are  the  gods,  all  of  them, 

76.  With  those  whom  you  created,  they  march  at  her  side, 

77.  They  are  rebellious,  at  Tiamat’s  side  they  come. 

78.  They  rage,  they  plot,  they  rest  not  day  nor  night, 

79.  They  prepare  for  battle,  fuming  and  raging, 

80.  An  assembly  is  made,  they  start  a  revolt. 

81.  Mother  Khubur,  who  formed  all  things, 

82.  Has  made  weapons  without  rival,  has  spawned 'monster-serpents, 

83.  Sharp  of  tooth,  unsparing  of  fang, 

84.  With  poison  like  blood  their  bodies  she  has  filled; 

85.  Fierce  dragons  with  terror  she  has  clothed; 

86.  Luster  has  been  made  abundant,  to  loftiness  made  equal. 

87.  Whoever  beholds  them,  terror  (?)  overcomes  him. 

88.  Their  bodies  they  raise  up  without  turning  their  breasts. 

89.  She  has  established  vipers,  serpents,  Lakhami, 

90.  Hurricanes,  raging  hounds,  scorpion-men, 

91.  Mighty  storms,  fish-men,  rams; 

92.  They  bear  merciless  weapons,  fearless  of  battle. 

93.  Her  behests  are  mighty,  without  rival  are  they. 

94.  Moreover  eleven  such  as  these  she  has  created. 

95.  Among  the  gods,  her  firstborn,  who  are  gathered  at  her  side, 

96.  She  has  exalted  Kingu,  made  him  great  in  their  midst, 

97.  To  march  before  the  forces,  to  lead  the  host, 


AN  EPIC  OF  THE  CREATION  241 


98.  To  raise  the  conquering  weapon,  to  lead  the  attack, 

99.  To  direct  the  battle  as  commander-in-chief; 

100.  To  him  she  has  entrusted  it,  made  him  sit  in  purple,  [saying]: 

101.  ‘Thy  spell  I  have  uttered,  in  the  assembly  of  the  gods  I  have  made  thee 

great; 

102.  The  sovereignty  of  all  the  gods  I  have  placed  in  thy  hand 

103.  Surely  thou  art  exalted,  O  my  spouse! 

104.  May  they  magnify  thy  name  over  all  the  Anunnaki.’ 

105.  She  has  given  him  the  tablets  of  destiny,  on  his  breast  has  laid  them, 

[saying]: 

106.  ‘Thy  command  shall  be  unalterable,  established  be  thy  word.’ 

107.  Now  Kingu  has  been  exalted,  has  received  highest  rank, 

108.  Among  the  gods,  her  sons,  he  fixes  fate,  [saying:] 

109.  ‘The  opening  of  your  mouth  shall  quench  the  fire-god, 

110.  Whoso  is  exalted  in  excellence,  let  him  increase  in  might.’ 

111.  I  sent  Anu,  he  had  no  power  before  her, 

112.  Nudimmud  feared  and  turned  back, 

113.  Marduk  has  set  forth,  the  leader  of  the  gods,  your  son, 

114.  As  a  foe  of  Tiamat  his  heart  prompts  him  to  go. 

115.  He  opened  his  mouth  and  spake  to  me,  [saying:] 

116.  ‘If  I  accomplish  your  preservation, 

117.  Take  Tiamat  captive  and  save  your  lives, 

118.  Appoint  an  assembly,  make  my  fate  strong,  let  it  come  in. 

119.  In  Upshukkunaku  seat  yourselves  joyfully  together, 

120.  The  word  of  my  mouth  shall  determine  fate  instead  of  you, 

121.  Let  there  not  be  changed  whatever  I  create, 

122.  May  there  not  be  altered  or  opposed  the  command  of  my  lips.’ 

123.  Hasten,  therefore,  and  quickly  decree  your  fate, 

124.  That  he  may  go  and  fight  your  strong  enemy.” 

125.  Lakhmu  and  Lakhamu  heard,  they  cried  aloud; 

126.  The  Igigi,  all  of  them,  wailed  bitterly,  [saying:] 

127.  “What  has  changed  that  they  should  desire  to  take  us  (?) 

128.  We  do  not  understand  what  Tiamat  has  done.” 

129.  Then  they  massed  themselves  together,  they  went, 

130.  The  great  gods,  all  of  them,  who  decree  fate. 

131.  They  entered  in  before  Anshar,  they  filled,  [Upshukkunaku]. 

132.  Brother  kissed  brother  in  the  assembly . 

133.  They  prepared  for  converse,  sat  down  to  the  banquet, 

134.  Bread  they  ate;  wine  they  prepared. 

135.  The  sweet  drink  confused  their  minds  (?), 

136.  Drunk  were  they  with  drink,  their  bodies  were  filled  (?), 

137.  They  became  very  unsteady,  their  hearts  were  exalted, 

138.  For  Marduk,  their  deliverer,  they  decreed  the  fate. 

Tablet  IV 

1.  They  prepared  for  him  a  princely  chamber: 

2.  In  the  presence  of  his  fathers  for  sovereignty  he  became  mighty. 

[They  said:] 

3.  “Thou  art  most  honored  among  the  great  gods, 

4.  Thy  destiny  is  without  rival,  thy  command  is  Anu’s! 

5.  O  Marduk,  thou  art  most  honored  among  the  great  gods, 

6.  Thy  destiny  is  without  rival,  thy  command  is  Anu’s! 

7.  From  today  without  opposition  shall  be  thy  command; 

S.  To  exalt  and  to  abase  is  verily  in  thy  power; 


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9.  Established  is  thy  utterance,  irresistible  thy  command. 

10.  None  among  the  gods  shall  invade  thy  province. 

11.  Sustenance,  the  desire  of  shrines  of  the  gods, 

12.  While  they  are  in  need,  shall  be  certain  in  thy  sanctuary! 

13.  O  Marduk,  thou  art  the  preserver  of  our  lives! 

14.  We  give  thee  sovereignty  over  the  totality  of  all  the  world. 

15.  Sit  thou  in  the  assembly,  thy  word  shall  be  exalted! 

16.  Thy  weapon  shall  never  be  o’ercome,  may  it  destroy  (?)  thy  foe! 

17.  O  lord,  he  who  trusts  thee — his  life  save! 

18.  But  the  god  that  is  wed  to  evil,  its  life  pour  out!” 

19.  Then  they  placed  in  the  midst  a  garment, 

20.  And  unto  Marduk,  their  firstborn,  they  spoke, 

21.  “Thy  fate,  0  Lord,  let  it  be  first  among  the  gods! 

22.  To  destroy  and  to  create— speak,  let  it  be  established! 

23.  At  thy  command  let  a  garment  perish! 

24.  Again  at  thy  command  let  the  garment  re-appear!” 

25.  Then  he  spake  with  his  mouth,  the  garment  perished; 

26.  Again  he  commanded  and  the  garment  was  recreated. 

27.  As  the  utterance  of  his  mouth  the  gods,  his  fathers,  saw, 

28.  They  rejoiced,  they  uttered  blessing:  “Marduk  is  king!” 

29.  They  bestowed  upon  him  the  scepter,  the  throne,  and  the  battle-axe; 

30.  They  gave  him  an  unrivaled  weapon,  which  turns  back  (?)  the  foe. 

31.  “Go,  Tiamat’s  life  cut  off; 

32.  May  the  winds  bear  her  blood  to  secret  places!” 

33.  When  the  gods,  his  fathers  had  fixed  Bel’s  fate, 

34.  The  way  of  prosperity  and  success  they  caused  him  to  take. 

35.  His  bow  he  prepared,  his  weapon  he  chose, 

36.  A  spear  he  bound  on  him  at  his  waist, 

37.  He  raised  the  heavenly  weapon,  with  his  right  hand  grasped  it, 

38.  His  bow  and  quiver  at  his  side  he  hung, 

39.  He  placed  the  lightning  before  his  face, 

40.  With  quivering  flame  his  body  he  filled. 

41.  He  made  a  net  to  enclose  Tiamat’s  body, 

42.  He  caused  the  four  winds  to  seize  so  that  nothing  of  her  could  escape; 

43.  The  south  wind,  the  north  wind,  the  east  wind,  the  west  wind, 

44.  He  brought  to  the  side  of  the  net,  the  gift  of  his  father  Anu, 

45.  He  made  the  evil  wind,  the  bad  wind,  the  tempest  and  the  hurricane, 

46.  The  four  winds,  the  seven  winds,  the  whirlwind  (?),  the  unhealthy  wind; 

47.  He  brought  forth  the  winds  which  he  had  made,  the  seven  of  them, 

48.  To  trouble  the  inward  parts  of  Tiamat,  they  came  after  him. 

49.  The  lord  raised  up  the  tornado,  his  mighty  weapon,  • 

50.  As  a  chariot,  a  storm  unrivaled  for  terror  he  mounted, 

51.  He  harnessed  for  himself  and  attached  to  it  four  steeds, 

52.  “Destroyer,”  “Unmerciful,”  “Overwhelmer,”  “Fleet-footed.” 

53.  [Foam-covered  (?)]  were  their  teeth,  filled  with  poison, 

54.  Skilled  were  they  [to  run  down],  taught  to  destroy. 

55 . mighty  in  battle, 

56.  Left  and  right  they  opened  (?) . 

57.  His  garment  was  [rage],  with  terror  was  he  clad, 

58.  With  his  overpowering  brightness  his  head  was  crowned. 

59.  He  made  straight  the  way,  he  took  his  path, 

60.  To  the  place  of  Tiamat,  the  raging  (?),  his  face  he  set. 

61.  With  his  lip . he  cursed  (?), 

62.  A  plant  of  magical  power  (?) — he  seized  with  his  hand. 

63.  On  that  day  they  exalted  (?)  him,  the  gods  exalted  (?)  him; 


AN  EPIC  OF  THE  CREATION 


243 


64.  The  gods,  his  fathers,  exalted  (?)  him,  the  gods  exalted  (?)  him. 

65.  The  lord  approached,  the  waist  of  Tiamat  he  scanned, 

66.  Of  Kingu,  her  spouse — he  beheld  his  terrifying-glance  (?). 

67.  As  Marduk  gazed,  Kingu’s  progress  was  impeded, 

68.  Destroyed  was  his  purpose,  frustrated  his  deed, 

69.  And  the  gods  his  helpers,  who  marched  at  his  side, 

70.  Saw  the  warrior  and  leader;  their  look  (?)  was  troubled. 

71.  Tiamat  perceived  it  (?);  she  did  not  turn  her  neck. 

72.  With  proud  (?)  lips  she  uttered  words  of  defiance: 

73.  “Who  decreed  (?)  that  thou  shouldst  come  as  lord  of  the  gods? 

74.  Have  they  assembled  from  their  places,  are  they  to  serve  thee?” 

75.  The  lord  raised  the  tornado,  his  mighty  weapon, 

76.  [Against]  Tiamat  who  was  raging,  thus  he  spoke: 

77.  “[Why  hast  thou]  made  thyself  great?  Exalted  thyself  on  high? 

78.  [Why  does  thy  heart]  prompt  thee  to  battle  (?) 

79.  [How  can  thy  helpers]  defy  (?)  the  gods,  their  fathers? 

80.  [Why]  dost  thou  hate  their  [command],  their  ru[le  despise]? 

81.  [Why  hast  thou  exalted  Kingu]  to  be  thy  spouse? 

82.  [Hast  given]  him  the  functions  of  deity? 

83.  [How]  canst  thou  seek  after  evil? 

84.  [And  against]  the  gods,  my  fathers,  thy  evil  plan  devise? 

85.  [Let]  thy  forces  be  joined,  girded  on  thy  weapons! 

86.  Stand!  I  and  thou — come  let  us  fight!” 

87.  Tiamat,  when  she  heard  this, 

88.  Was  like  one  possessed;  she  lost  her  reason. 

89.  Ti&mat  cried  out  vehemently  with  high  voice, 

90.  Like  roots  divided  in  twain  her  legs  trembled. 

91.  She  uttered  an  incantation,  she  cast  a  charm, 

92.  And  the  gods  of  battle  demanded  their  weapons. 

93.  Then  took  their  stand  Tiamat  and  the  leader  of  the  gods,  Marduk; 

94.  For  the  fight  they  approached,  for  the  battle  they  drew  near. 

95.  The  lord  spread  out  his  net  and  enclosed  her, 

96.  The  evil  wind  from  behind  he  thrust  into  her  face. 

97.  As  Tiamat  opened  her  mouth  to  its  full  extent, 

98.  The  evil  wind  he  drove  in,  so  that  her  lips  could  not  close. 

99.  With  the  mighty  winds  he  filled  her  belly; 

100.  Her  courage  was  taken  away,  and  she  opened  her  mouth. 

101.  He  let  fall  the  spear,  he  burst  open  her  belly, 

102.  He  cut  through  her  inward  parts,  he  pierced  her  heart, 

103.  He  bound  her  and  her  life  destroyed; 

104.  Her  body  he  cast  down,  upon  it  he  stood. 

105.  After  Tiamat,  the  leader,  he  had  slain, 

106.  Her  army  he  broke,  her  host  was  scattered, 

107.  And  the  gods,  her  helpers,  who  marched  by  her  side, 

108.  Trembled,  feared,  they  turned  their  backs; 

109.  They  sought  an  exit,  to  save  their  lives; 

110.  With  a  cordon  they  were  encompassed;  escape  was  not  possible. 

111.  He  caught  them,  their  weapons  he  broke, 

112.  Into  the  net  they  fell,  in  the  snare  they  remained. 

113.  All  quarters  of  the  world  they  filled  with  lamentation. 

114.  His  wrath  they  endured;  they  were  held  in  bondage. 

115.  And  the  eleven  creatures,  whom  she  had  filled  with  terribleness, 

116.  The  troop  of  demons  who  marched  as  her  helpers  (?), 

117.  He  threw  into  fetters,  their  power  he  [broke]; 

118.  Along  with  their  opposition  he  trampled  them  under  his  feet. 


244 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


119.  And  Kingu  who  had  been  exalted  over  them, 

120.  He  took  captive,  as  the  god  Dugga  he  counted  him. 

121.  He  took  from  him  the  tablets  of  destiny,  not  rightly  his, 

122.  He  sealed  them  with  a  seal,  in  his  own  breast  he  laid  them. 

123.  After  his  enemies  he  had  seized  and  destroyed, 

124.  His  arrogant  foe  had  completely  humiliated  (?), 

125.  The  triumph  of  Anshar  over  the  foe  had  fully  established, 

126.  The  wish  of  Nudimmud  had  accomplished,  Marduk,  the  warrior 

127.  Over  the  bound  gods  strengthened  his  hold, 

128.  Unto  Tiamat,  whom  he  had  bound,  he  turned  back. 

129.  The  lord  trod  upon  Tiamat’s  feet 

130.  And  with  his  unsparing  weapon  crushed  her  head. 

131.  He  cut  through  the  veins  of  her  blood, 

132.  He  caused  the  north  wind  to  bear  it  to  secret  places. 

133.  His  fathers  saw  it;  they  rejoiced,  they  exulted, 

134.  Gifts  and  presents  they  brought  unto  him. 

135.  Then  the  lord  rested;  he  gazed  upon  her  body, 

136.  The  flesh  of  the  monster  he  divided;  he  formed  a  cunning  plan. 

137.  He  split  her  open  like  a  flat  fish  into  two  halves, 

138.  One  half  of  her  he  established  and  made  a  covering  of  the  heavens, 

139.  He  drew  a  bolt,  he  established  a  guard, 

140.  And  not  to  let  her  waters  come  out,  he  commanded. 

141.  He  passed  through  the  heavens,  he  surveyed  the  regions, 

142.  Over  against  the  deep  he  set  the  dwelling  of  Nudimmud. 

143.  The  structures  of  the  deep  the  lord  measured, 

144.  As  a  palace  like  unto  it  he  founded  Esharra. 

145.  In  the  palace  Esharra  which  he  built  in  the  heavens, 

146.  He  caused  Anu,  Ellil,  and  Ea  at  their  stations  to  dwell. 

Tablet  V 

1.  He  [Marduk]  ordained  the  stations  of  the  great  gods; 

2.  As  stars  their  likenesses  as  constellations  of  the  zodiac  he  placed. 

3.  He  ordained  the  year,  into  parts  he  divided  it, 

4.  For  the  twelve  months  he  established  three  stars. 

5.  After  the  days  of  the  year  he  had  fashioned  as  images, 

6.  He  founded  the  station  of  Jupiter,  to  determine  their  bounds; 

7.  That  none  might  go  wrong  or  err, 

8.  The  station  of  Bel  he  established,  and  Ea  by  his  side. 

9.  He  opened  gates  on  both  sides. 

10.  A  lock  he  made  strong  on  the  left  and  the  right, 

11.  In  the  midst  thereof  he  placed  the  zenith; 

12.  The  moon-god  he  caused  to  shine;  the  night  he  entrusted  to  him. 

13.  He  appointed  him  a  being  of  the  night,  to  determine  the  days; 

14.  Monthly,  without  ceasing,  into  a  crown  he  made  him,  [saying:] 

15.  “At  the  beginning  of  the  month  shine  upon  the  lands, 

16.  Horns  exhibit,  to  determine  six  days; 

17.  On  the  seventh  day  let  the  tiara  disappear; 

18.  On  the  fourteenth  day  thou  shalt  stand  over  against  the  [two]  halves. 

19.  When  the  sun-god  on  the  horizon . thee, 

20.  Thou . to  be  resplendent,  and  thou  shalt  turn  (?)  backward  (?) 

21.  [Fourteen  days]  unto  the  path  of  the  sun-god  thou  shalt  approach, 

22.  [On  the  28th  day]  thou  shalt  approach  the  sun-god . 

23  . signs  (?),  seek  (?)  her  way! 

24  . approach  ye  and  judge  justice! 


AN  EPIC  OF  THE  CREATION 


245 


25  . to  destroy, 

26  . me.” 


(Some  lines  are  lost  at  this  point.  It  is  estimated  that  forty  of  them  are 
lacking.) 

s' 

67.  After . 

68.  In  Esagila1 . 

69.  To  establish.. . . 

70.  The  station  of . 

71.  The  great  gods . 

72.  The  gods . 

73.  He  received . 

74.  The  net  which  he  had  made  the  [great]  gods  saw, 

75.  Saw  the  bow,  how  skillful  [its  workmanship]; 

76.  The  work  which  he  had  done,  they  [loudly]  praised. 

77.  Then  arose  Anu  in  the  assembly  of  the  [great]  gods, 

78.  The  bow  he  kissed  it . 

79.  “Long-wood  shall  be  one  name,  and  a  second . 

80.  Its  third  name  shall  be  Bow-star  in  the  heavens.” 

81.  He  fixed  its  position  [unto  distant  days]. 

82.  After  the  destiny  of . 

83.  [He  set]  a  throne . 

84 . in  the  heavens . 

(Practically  all  the  remainder  of  Tablet  V  is  as  yet  undiscovered.  From  a 
very  broken  fragment,  preserved  in  the  British  Museum,  it  appears  that  when 
the  gods  saw  the  work  of  Marduk  in  adorning  the  heavens  with  constellations, 
they  broke  into  rapturous  praise  of  him.  It  is  these  words  to  which  reference  is 
made  at  the  beginning  of  Tablet  VI.) 


Tablet  VI 

1.  Marduk,  the  word  of  the  gods,  when  he  heard  it, 

2.  His  heart  was  stirred,  he  formed  a  brilliant  plan. 

3.  He  opened  his  mouth,  to  Ea  he  spoke, 

4.  What  in  his  heart  he  had  conceived  he  made  known  to  him: 

5.  “My  blood  will  I  divide,  bone  will  I  [fashion], 

6.  I  will  make  man,  yes,  man . 

7.  I  will  create  man  who  shall  dwell  on  the  [earth]; 

8.  Truly  shall  the  service  of  the  gods  be  established — of  them  and  their 

shrines. 

9.  I  will  alter  the  ways  of  the  gods,  and  will  change  [their  paths], 

10.  Together  shall  they  be  honored,  and  unto  evil  shall  [they]” . 

11.  Then  Ea  answered  him  and  said: 

12  . the . of  the  gods  have  I  changed, 

13  . one . 

14  . shall  be  destroyed,  and  people  will  I . 

15  . and  the  gods . 

16  . give  and  they . 

17  . shall  assemble  (?)  and  the  gods . 

18  . 


1  Marduk’s  temple  in  Babylonia. 


246 


ARCHEOLOGY  ANP  THE  BIBLE 


19  . the  gods . 

20  . the  Anunnaki 


(The  rest  of  Tablet  VI  is  still  unrecovered,  except  a  few  lines  at  the  end.) 

140.  When . 

141.  They  rejoiced . 

142.  In  Upshukkunnaku  they  set  [their  assembly]. 

143.  Of  their  heroic  son,  their  savior  they  [cried]: 

144.  “We  whom  he  succored.” . 

145.  They  seated  themselves,  in  the  assembly  they  named  him . 

146.  They  all  cried  aloud  (?) ,  they  exalted  him . 

Tablet  VII 

1.  “O  Asharu,  bestower  of  harvests,  founder  of  agriculture, 

2.  Creator  of  grain  and  plants,  who  made  green  herbs  to  grow, 

3.  O  honored  Asharu,  revered  in  the  house  of  counsel,  rich  in  counsel, 

4.  Whom  the  gods  honor,  fearing  [laid  hold  upon  them] 

5.  O  honored  Asharu,  powerful  prince,  the  light  [of  the  fathers  who  begat 

him], 

6.  Who  directs  the  decrees  of  Anu,  Bel,  [ancLEa]. 

7.  He  was  their  preserver,  who  ordained . 

8.  He  whose  provision  is  abundance,  he  goeth  forth . 

9.  Tutu,  the  creator  of  their  renewal  is  he. 

10.  If  their  want  be  pure,  then  are  [they  satisfied]; 

11.  If  he  make  an  incantation,  then  are  the  gods  [appeased]; 

12.  Should  they  attack  him  in  anger,  he  will  repulse  their  array; 

13.  Let  him  therefore  be  exalted  in  the  assembly  of  the  gods. 

14.  None  among  the  gods  is  like  unto  him! 

15.  Tutu-Ziukinna  is  the  life  of  the  host  of  the  gods. 

16.  Who  established  for  the  gods  the  bright  heavens. 

17.  Their  way  he  received,  [their  path]  ordained. 

18.  Never  forgotten  among  men  shall  be  his  [mighty]  deeds. 

19.  Tutu  as  Zi-azag  thirdly  they  named,  bringer  of  purification, 

20.  God  of  the  favoring  breeze,  the  lord  who  hears  and  is  merciful, 

21.  Who  creates  fulness  and  plenty,  who  establishes  abundance, 

22.  Who  turns  whatever  is  small  into  something  great. 

23.  “In  sore  distress  we  caught  his  favoring  breeze,” 

24.  Let  them  honor  him,  praise  him,  bow  humbly  before  him. 

25.  Tutu  as  Aga-azag  may  the  mighty  ones  praise, 

26.  The  lord  of  the  pure  incantation,  who  makes  the  dead  to  live, 

27.  Who  to  the  captive  gods  showed  abundant  compassion, 

28.  The  oppressive  yoke  he  laid  upon  the  gods,  his  enemies, 

29.  For  their1  release  he  created  mankind, 

30.  The  merciful  one,  with  whom  is  life! 

31.  Established  and  never  forgotten  be  his  word 

32.  In  the  mouth  of  the  black-headed  race,2  whom  his  hand  created. 

33.  Tutu  as  Mu-azag,  fifthly,  his  pure  incantation  may  their  mouth  pro¬ 

claim, 

34.  Who  through  his  pure  incantation  destroys  all  evil  ones, 

35.  Shagzu,  who  knows  the  hearts  of  the  gods,  who  sees  through  the  inner¬ 

most  parts. 

1 1.  e.,  the  captive  gods  of  line  27. 

1  The  name  which  the  Babylonians  gave  themselves. 


AN  EPIC  OF  THE  CREATION  247 


36.  The  evil  doer  he  permits  not  to  go  out  with  him  (?). 

37.  Founder  of  the  assembly  of  the  gods  [who  gladdens]  their  heart. 

38.  Who  subdues,  the  disobedient . . 

39.  Director  of  righteousness . 

(The  tablet  is  too  broken  for  connected  translation,  until  nearly  the  end,  where 
it  continues :) 

107.  Truly  he  holds  their  beginning  and  ending . 

108.  Saying,  “He  who  passed  through  the  midst  of  Tiamat  [without  resting], 

109.  Let  his  name  be  Neberu,  who  seizes  the  midst, 

110.  Who  the  stars  of  heaven — their  ways  he  upholds; 

111.  As  a  flock  verily  the  gods  pasture,  all  of  them.” 

112.  He  bound  Tiamat,  her  life  he  apportioned,  he  ended. 

113.  In  the  future,  people,  old  in  years, 

114.  Shall  renew  unceasingly,  “let  him  be  lord  forever!” 

115.  Because  he  created  the  places  and  fashioned  the  fastnesses 

116.  “Lord  of  countries”  Bel,  his  father,  named  him. 

117.  The  names  the  Igigi  named,  all  of  them, 

118.  Ea  heard,  and  his  heart  rejoiced: 

119.  “He  whose  name  his  fathers  have  magnified 

120.  He,  even  like  me,  shall  be  named  Ea. 

121.  The  binding  of  all  my  commands  shall  he  control, 

122.  All  my  decrees  shall  he  proclaim!” 

123.  By  the  name  “Fifty”  did  the  great  gods 

124.  His  fifty  names  make  known,  they  made  his  path  pre-eminent. 

125.  May  they  be  held  fast  and  the  first  men  reveal  them, 

126.  The  wise,  the  understanding  shall  consider  them  together; 

127.  May  the  father  repeat  them  and  the  son  lay  hold  upon  them, 

128.  So-  that  shepherd  and  herdsman  may  open  their  ears, 

129.  And  may  rejoice  in  Marduk,  the  lord  of  the  gods, 

130.  That  his  land  may  be  fertile,  that  he  may  have  prosperity. 

131.  His  word  is  established,  his  command  unfailing, 

132.  The  word  of  his  mouth,  no  god  hath  annulled. 

133.  He  casts  his  glance  without  turning  his  neck, 

134.  When  he  roars,  no  god  can  face  his  anger. 

135.  Wide  is  his  heart,  great  his  goodness; 

136.  The  sinner  and  transgressor  in  his  presence . 

137.  They  received  instruction,  they  spake  before  him. 

(The  concluding  lines  are  too  broken  for  connected  translation.) 

2.  The  First  Chapter  of  Genesis  and  the  Foregoing  Creation  Epic. 

The  Babylonian  Creation  Epic,  in  the  form  in  which  we  know  it, 
took  shape  in  the  city  of  Babylon.  Naturally,  therefore,  the  god 
Marduk  is  made  the  central  figure.  It  is  he  only  who  was  suffi¬ 
ciently  powerful  to  overcome  the  primeval  dragon,  it  was  he  who 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  it  was  he  whom  at  the  end  gods 
and  men  adored. 

A  Babylonian  priest,  Berossos,  in  a  work  composed  after  the  time 
of  Alexander  the  Great,  gives  an  account  of  Babylonian  ideas  of 
the  creation  of  the  world,  which  is  but  the  tradition  of  the  epic 


248 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


in  a  slightly  different  form.  A  neoplatonic  philosopher,  Damascius, 
who  lived  about  560  a.  d.,  has  also  preserved  a  part  of  the  tradition 
in  a  form  almost  identical  with  that  of  the  epic. 

Scholars  of  all  shades  of  opinion  agree  that  there  is  some  con¬ 
nection  between  this  Babylonian  tradition  and  the  first  chapter 
of  Genesis,  though  they  differ  as  to  whether  the  Biblical  writer  was 
acquainted  with  the  Babylonian  tradition  as  we  have  it  in  the  epic, 
or  whether  he  knew  an  earlier  form  of  the  story. 

The  points  of  similarity  which  have  been  urged  between  Genesis 
and  the  Babylonian  epic  are  the  following:  1.  They  begin  somewhat 
similarly,  Genesis  with  the  words  “In  the  beginning,”  the  epic 
with  the  words: 

“Time  was  when  above  heaven  was  not  named; 

Below  to  the  earth  no  name,  was  given.” 

2.  Both  accounts  assume  that  primeval  chaos  consisted  of  a  mass 
of  waters,  and  to  this  mass  of  waters  they  give  the  same  name. 
The  Hebrews  called  it  tfhom ,  “deep”;  the  Babylonians,  Tiamat. 
These  are  really  the  same  word  in  the  two  closely  related  languages, 
just  as  day  and  Tag  are  the  same  word  in  an  English  and  a  German 
form.  In  Genesis  we  are  told  that  “The  Spirit  of  God  moved  (R.  V. 
margin,  was  brooding)  upon  the  face  of  the  waters”;  in  the  Baby¬ 
lonian  epic,  the  waters,  which  were  thought  to  be  of  two  genders, 
were  embosomed.  In  both  the  result  is  the  beginning  of  the  crea¬ 
tive  process. 

The  two  accounts  agree  that  the  heavens  and  the  earth  were 
created  by  the  division  of  the  primeval  ocean  by*  a  firmament 
(the  Babylonian  calls  it  a  covering),  which  held  up  a  part  of  the 
waters,  so  that  the  earth  could  be  formed  beneath.  They  accord¬ 
ingly  agree  in  the  conception  that  there  is  a  super-celestial  ocean, 
i.  e.,  “the  waters  which  are  above  the  firmament”  (Gen.  1:7). 

Another  striking  similarity  is  found  in  the  arrangement  by  sevens : 
the  Babylonian  epic  is  arranged  in  seven  tablets,  or  cantos,  the 
Hebrew  account,  in  seven  days.  The  Babylonian  series  culminates 
in  the  praise  of  Marduk  by  all  the  gods;  the  Hebrew,  in  the  institu¬ 
tion  of  the  sabbath.  The  two  series  agree  in  connecting  the 
heavens  with  the  fourth  epoch  of  creation,  and  the  creation  of 
man  with  the  sixth. 

In  other  respects  the  order  differs.  In  the  Babylonian  account 
the  moon  and  stars  are  created  on  the  fifth  day,  instead  of  on  the 


AN  EPIC  OF  THE  CREATION 


249 


fourth.  As  Marduk  is  identified  with  the  sun,  that  orb  is  assumed; 
its  creation  is  not  described.  The  creation  of  animals  is  not  de¬ 
scribed  in  any  text  which  we  can  attach  to  a  definite  tablet  of  the 
Babylonian  series.  It  is,  however,  given  in  a  fragment  which  reads 
as  follows: 

1.  When  the  gods  in  their  assembly  had  made  [the  heavensj, 

2.  The  firmament  had  established  and  bound  [fast], 

3.  Living  things  of  all  kinds  had  created, 


4.  Cattle  of  the  field,  beasts  of  the  field,  and  moving  things  of  the  city. 

5.  After . unto  all  kinds  of  living  things . 

6.  [Between  beasts]  of  the  field  and  moving  things  of  the  city  had  divided. . . 

7  . all  creatures,  the  whole  creation . 

8  . that  which  in  the  whole  of  my  family . 

9.  [Then  arose]  Nin-igi-azag,  two  small  creatures  [he  created], 

10.  In  the  assembly  of  the  beasts  he  made  [their  form]  brilliant, 

11  . the  goddess  Gula . 

12  . one  white  and  one  black . 

13  . one  white  and  one  black . 


The  Babylonian  account,  then,  contained  somewhere  the  story 
of  the  creation  of  the  animals,  though,  like  the  other  parts  of  the 
Babylonian  account,  its  order  and  atmosphere  differ  widely  from 
the  Biblical  narrative. 

Some  of  these  resemblances  are  of  no  great  significance.  The 
fact  that  the  two  accounts  are  arranged  by  sevens  may  be  due 
simply  to  the  fact  that  that  number  was  sacred  among  both  peoples. 
It  is  thought  by  some  scholars  that  its  use  in  Genesis  was  consciously 
adopted  in  order  to  lead  up  to  the  sabbath  and  glorify  it.  This 
might  be  true,  even  if  the  writer  of  the  chapter  knew  of  the  Baby¬ 
lonian  arrangement  by  sevens. 

The  features  of  the  two  narratives,  which  have  convinced  some 
scholars  of  all  shades  of  opinion  that  there  is  a  real  kinship  between 
the  two  accounts,  are  their  agreement  as  to  the  nature  of  primeval 
chaos,  and  the  division  of  the  primeval  ocean  by  a  firmament  for 
the  creation  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  Both  writers  had,  so  to 
speak,  the  same  raw  material  of  objective  conceptions. 

The  differences  between  the  accounts  are,  however,  most  marked. 
To  speak  first  of  that  which  is  least  important,  the  Hebrew  order 
is  in  many  respects  different  from  the  Babylonian.  In  the  Baby¬ 
lonian  the  gods  are  generated  in  the  first  tablet,  the  world  is  not 
created  till  the  fourth,  and  the  creation  of  all  other  things  is  told 
in  tablets  four,  five,  and  six.  In  other  words,  creation  is  divided 
into  two  parts,  each  of  which  is  told  in  three  tablets.  The  first  three 


250 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


tablets  deal  with  gods,  the  second  three  with  the  world  and  living 
things. 

This  twofold  division  is  found  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis. 
Here  the  creative  process  is  divided  into  two  stages,  each  embracing 
four  works,  and  occupying  three  days.  The  distribution  of  these 
works  is  strikingly  different  from  the  Babylonian.  On  the  first 
day,  light  and  darkness  were  created;  on  the  second,  the  firmament; 
on  the  third,  the  earth  and  vegetation ;  on  the  fourth,  the  heavenly 
bodies;  on  the  fifth,  fishes  and  birds;  on  the  sixth,  animals  and  men. 
The  first  series  of  three  days  prepared  the  heavens  and  the  earth; 
the  second  series  studded  the  sky  with  orbs  and  the  earth  with 
living  beings.  There  is  a  striking  parallelism  between  the  two 
series.  The  first  begins  with  the  creation  of  light;  the  second,  with 
light-giving  bodies.  To  the  third  and  sixth  days  two  creative  acts 
each  are  assigned.  On  the  second  day  the  seas  are  isolated;  on  the 
fifth  they  are  stocked  with  fishes.  On  the  third  day  dry  land 
emerges,  on  the  sixth  terrestrial  animals  are  made.  On  the  third 
also  herbs  began  to  grow;  on  the  sixth  they  are  assigned  to  animals 
and  men  for  food.  The  classification  of  the  acts  of  creation  in 
Genesis  is  clear  and  consistent,  and  thoroughly  independent  of  that 
in  the  Babylonian  account. 

A  more  important  difference  lies  in  the  religious  conceptions  of 
the  two.  The  Babylonian  poem  is  mythological  and  polytheistic. 
Its  conception  of  deity  is  by  no  means  exalted.  Its  gods  love  and 
hate,  they  scheme  and  plot,  fight  and  destroy.  Marduk,  the  cham¬ 
pion,  conquers  only  after  a  fierce  struggle,  which  taxes  his  powers  to 
the  utmost.  Genesis,  on  the  other  hand,  reflects  the  most  exalted 
monotheism.  God  is  so  thoroughly  the  master  of  all  the  elements 
of  the  universe,  that  they  obey  his  slightest  word.  He  controls 
all  without  effort.  He  speaks  and  it  is  done.  Granting,  as  most 
scholars  do,  that  there  is  a  connection  between  the  two  narratives, 
there  is  no  better  measure  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Biblical  account 
than  to  put  it  side  by  side  with  the  Babylonian.  As  we  read  the 
chapter  in  Genesis  today,  it  still  reveals  to  us  the  majesty  and  power 
of  the  one  God,  and  creates  in  the  modern  man,  as  it  did  in  the 
ancient  Hebrew,  a  worshipful  attitude  toward  the  Creator. 

3.  The  Babylonian  Creation  Epic  and  Other  Parts  of  the  Bible. 

The  Babylonian  poem,  crude  though  it  seems  to  us,  had  a  power¬ 
ful  fascination  for  the  imagination.  With  more  or  less  distinctness 
parts  of  it  seem  to  have  been  known  to  various  Hebrew  writers, 


AN  EPIC  OF  THE  CREATION 


251 


who,  attributing  to  their  own  God,  Jehovah,  the  role  ascribed  in  the 
epic  to  Marduk,  used  these  stories  as  poetic  illustrations.  At  least 
this  is  the  view  of  a  considerable  group  of  scholars.  Some  object 
that,  if  this  were  true,  it  would  degrade  Jehovah  to  the  level  of 
Marduk,  but  the  objection  does  not  seem  well  founded.  The 
Hebrews  might  well  have  been  such  ardent  monotheists  as  to  believe 
that  each  and  every  mighty  manifestation  of  power  had  been  the 
work  of  Jehovah,  without  in  any  way  lowering  Jehovah  to  the  level 
of  a  heathen  god.  The  most  important  parallels  which  have  been 
cited  are  here  given,  so  that  the  reader  may  judge  for  himself  as  to 
which  view  is  the  more  probable. 

In  Job  9  :  13,  14  we  read: 

God  will  not  withdraw  his  anger; 

The  helpers  of  Rahab  do  stoop  under  him. 

How  much  less  shall  I  answer  him, 

And  choose  out  my  words  to  reason  with  him? 

Rahab  is  believed  by  many  to  be  here  an  epithet  of  Tiamat.  It 
means  “the  one  who  acts  boisterously”  or  “proudly.”  Those  who 
thus  think  believe  the  lines  in  Job  to  refer  to  the  overcoming  of 
Tiamat’s  helpers  in  Tablet  IV,  lines  105-118,  of  the  Babylonian 
creation  epic,  which  read  as  follows: 

After  Ti&mat  the  leader  he  had  slain, 

Her  army  he  broke,  her  host  was  scattered, 

And  the  gods,  her  helpers,  who  marched  at  her  side, 

Trembled,  feared,  they  turned  their  backs; 

They  sought  an  exit,  to  save  their  lives; 

With  a  cordon  they  were  encompassed,  escape  was  not  possible. 

He  caught  them,  their  weapons  he  broke, 

Into  the  net  they  fell,  in  the  snare  they  remained. 

All  the  quarters  of  the  world  they  filled  with  their  lamentation. 

His  wrath  they  endured,  they  were  held  in  bondage. 

And  the  eleven  creatures,  whom  she  had  filled  with  terribleness, 

The  troop  of  demons  who  marched  as  her  helpers, 

He  threw  into  fetters,  their  power  he  broke; 

Along  with  their  opposition  he  trampled  them  under  his  feet. 

This  would  seem  to  suit  the  reference  in  Job,  and  to  give  point  to 
Job’s  words.  As  our  Saviour  used  stories  in  his  parables,  so  this 
poet  may  have  used  this  well-known  story  to  illustrate  his  point. 

Again  Job  26  :  12,  13  reads: 

He  stirreth  up  the  sea  with  his  power, 

And  by  his  understanding  he  smiteth  through  Rahab. 

By  his  Spirit  the  heavens  are  garnished; 

His  hand  hath  pierced  the  swift  serpent. 


252 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Four  of  the  ancient  versions  of  the  Old  Testament,  with  a  very 
slight  change  in  the  Hebrew  letters,  read  Job  26  :  13: 

The  bars  of  heaven  fear  him; 

His  hand  hath  pierced  the  swift  serpent. 

Into  comparison  with  v.  12  and  the  last  line  of  13,  scholars  have 
brought  Tablet  IV,  line  93,  ff.,  which  runs: 

Then  took  their  stand,  Tiamat  and  the  leader  of  the  gods,  Marduk; 

For  the  fight  they  approached,  for  the  battle  drew  near. 

The  lord  spread  out  his  net  and  enclosed  her, 

The  evil  wind  from  behind  he  thrust  into  her  face. 

As  Tiamat  opened  her  mouth  to  its  full  extent, 

The  evil  wind  he  drove  in,  so  that  her  lips  could  not  close. 

With  the  mighty  winds  he  filled  her  belly. 

Her  courage  was  taken  away,  and  she  opened  her  mouth. 

He  let  fall  the  spear,  he  burst  open  her  belly, 

He  cut  through  her  inward  parts,  he  pierced  her  heart, 

He  bound  her  and  her  life  destroyed; 

Her  body  he  cast  down  and  stood  upon  it. 

Into  comparison  with  the  first  line  of  v.  13,  as  the  versions  give  it, 
scholars  have  brought  line  135,  and  ff.,  of  the  same  tablet: 

Then  the  lord  rested,  he  gazed  upon  her  body, 

The  flesh  of  the  monster  he  divided;  he  formed  a  cunning  plan. 

He  split  her  open  like  a  flat  fish  into  two  halves; 

One  half  of  her  he  established  and  made  a  covering  of  the  heavens. 

He  drew  a  bolt,  he  established  a  guard, 

And  not  to  let  her  waters  come  out,  he  commanded. 

With  the  passages  quoted  above  Psa.  74  :  13,  14  has  also  been 
compared: 

Thou  didst  divide  the  sea  by  thy  strength: 

Thou  brakest  the  heads  of  the  sea-monsters  in  the  waters. 

Thou  brakest  the  heads  of  leviathan  in  pieces; 

Thou  gavest  him  to  be  food  to  the  people  inhabiting  the  wilderness. 

Verses  16,  17  of  the  same  Psalm  continue  the  theme  with  the 
words: 

The  day  is  thine,  the  night  also  is  thine: 

Thou  hast  prepared  the  light  and  the  sun. 

Thou  hast  set  all  the  borders  of  the  earth: 

Thou  hast  made  summer  and  winter. 

The  theme  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  epic,  viz. :  the  creation  of  the 
world.  It  would  appear  from  v.  14  that  as  the  Hebrews  called 


AN  EPIC  OF  THE  CREATION 


253 


Tiamat  Rahab,  so  they  called  Kingu  leviathan.  Those  who  so 
think  find  another  reference  to  the  Babylonian  creation  epic  in 
Job  3:8: 

Let  them  curse  it  that  curse  the  day, 

Who  are  ready  to  rouse  up  leviathan. 

Apparently  there  were  magicians  who  professed  to  be  able  to 
arouse  such  a  monster. 

Other  references  to  leviathan  are  thought  to  employ  the  same 
illustrative  material.  Thus  in  Isa.  27  :  1  we  read: 

In  that  day  Jehovah  with  his  hard  and  great  and  strong  sword  will  punish 
leviathan  the  swift  serpent,  and  leviathan  the  crooked  serpent;  and  he  will  slay 
the  monster  that  is  in  the  sea. 


In  Job  41  there  is  a  long  description  of  the  crocodile  under  the 
name  leviathan.  In  verses  19-21  some  things  are  said  of  him  that 
do  not  suit  a  real  crocodile,  and  some  scholars  have  thought  that 
the  language  was  influenced  by  the  Babylonian  material.  These 
verses  are: 

Out  of  his  mouth  go  burning  torches, 

And  sparks  of  fire  leap  forth. 

Out  of  his  nostrils  a  smoke  goeth, 

As  of  a  boiling  pot  and  burning  rushes. 

His  breath  kindleth  coals, 

And  a  flame  goeth  forth  from  his  mouth. 


Other  references  to  Rahab,  which  have  been  thought  to  use  the 
same  illustration,  are  Psalm  89  :  10: 

Thou  hast  broken  Rahab  in  pieces  as  one  that  is  slain; 

Thou  hast  scattered  thine  enemies  with  the  arm  of  thy  strength. 


Also,  Isaiah  51:9: 

Is  it  not  thou  that  didst  cut  Rahab  in  pieces, 

That  didst  pierce  the  monster? 

As  to  whether  these  sacred  writers  really  employed  the  material 
of  the  Babylonian  epic  to  give  force  to  their  illustrations,  the  judg¬ 
ments  of  men  will  differ  in  accordance  with  their  views  of  what  is 
possible  for  an  inspired  writer. 

In  the  following  passages  Rahab  is  used  to  denote  Egypt  as  a 


254 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


proud  and  imperious  country.  These  uses  are  clearly  figurative 
and  metaphorical. 

Isa.  30  :  7 : 

For  Egypt  helpeth  in  vain  and  to  no  purpose: 

Therefore  have  I  called  her  Rahab  that  sitteth  still. 

Psa.  87  : 4: 


Rahab  and  Babylon  I  proclaim  my  votaries. 

A  fragmentary  account  of  an  Assyrian  version  of  the  creation 
epic  has  been  found.  It  agrees  with  the  Babylonian  account  in 
beginning  with  Tiamat,  though  the  course  of  creation  appears  to 
have  been  different.  The  tablets  known  to  us  present  it,  how¬ 
ever,  in  a  form  too  fragmentary  for  us  to  follow  the  course  of  the 
narrative. 


CHAPTER  II 


ANOTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  CREATION  FOUND  AT 

BABYLON.1 

Text  of  the  Account.  Comparison  of  it  with  Genesis  2. 

I.  Text  of  the  Account. 

1.  A  holy  house,  a  house  of  the  gods,  in  a  holy  place  had  not  been  made; 

2.  No  reed  had  sprung  up,  no  tree  had  been  created. 

3.  No  brick  had  been  made,  no  foundation  had  been  built, 

4.  No  house  had  been  constructed,  no  city  had  been  built; 

5.  No  city  had  been  built,  thrones  had  not  been  established; 

6.  Nippur  had  not  been  constructed,  Ekur  had  not  been  built; 

7.  Erech  had  not  been  constructed,  Eanna  had  not  been  built; 

8.  The  deep  had  not  been  formed,  Eridu  had  not  been  built; 

9.  The  holy  house,  the  house  of  the  gods,  the  dwelling  had  not  been  made, — 

10.  All  lands  were  sea, — 

II.  Then  in  the  midst  of  the  sea  was  a  water-course; 

12.  In  those  days  Eridu  was  constructed,  Esagila  was  built, 

13.  Esagila  where,  in  the  midst  of  the  deep,  the  god  Lugal-dul-azaga  abode, 

14.  (Babylon  was  made,  Esagila  was  completed). 

15.  The  gods  and  the  Anunaki  he  made  at  one  time. 

16.  (The  holy  city,  the  dwelling  of  their  hearts’  desire,  they  named  as  first), 

17.  Marduk  bound  a  structure  of  reeds  upon  the  face  of  the  waters, 

18.  He  formed  dust,  he  poured  it  out  beside  the  reed-structure. 

19.  To  cause  the  gods  to  dwell  in  the  habitation  of  their  hearts’  desire, 

20.  He  formed  mankind. 

21.  The  goddess  Aruru  with  him  created  mankind, 

22.  Cattle  of  the  field,  in  whom  is  breath  of  life,  he  created. 

23.  He  formed  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  and  set  them  in  their  places, 

24.  Their  names  he  did  well  declare. 

25  The  grass,  marsh-grass,  the  reed  and  brushwood  (?)  he  created, 

26.  The  green  grass  of  the  field  he  created, 

27.  The  land,  the  marshes,  and  the  swamps; 

28.  The  wild  cow  and  her  young,  the  wild  calf;  the  ewe  and  her  young,  the 

lamb  of  the  fold; 

29.  Gardens  and  forests; 

30.  The  wild  goat,  the  mountain  goat,  (who)  cares  for  himself  (?). 

31.  The  lord  Marduk  filled  a  terrace  by  the  seaside, 


32  . a  marsh,  reeds  he  set, 

33  . he  caused  to  exist. 

34.  [Reeds  he  creat]ed;  trees  he  created; 

35.  In  their . in  their  place  he  made; 


1  Translated  from  Cuneiform  Texts  from  Babylonian  Tablets  in  the  British  Museum ,  Part  XIII, 
p.  35,  ff. 


255 


256 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


36.  [Bricks  he  laid,  a  founda]tion  he  constructed; 

37.  [Houses  he  made],  a  city  he  built; 

38.  [A  city  he  built,  a  throne]  he  established; 

39.  [Nuppur  he  constructed],  Ekur  he  built; 

40.  [Erech  he  constructed],  Eanna  he  built. 

(At  this  point  the  tablet  is  broken.  When  it  again  becomes  legible,  it  is  in  the 
midst  of  an  incantation.) 

2.  Comparison  with  Genesis  2. 

This  account  of  the  creation  has  sometimes  been  compared  with 
Genesis  2  :  4,  fL,  which  describes  a  time  when  there  was  no  grass 
or  vegetation  on  the  earth,  and  then  goes  on  to  describe  the  creation 
of  man  and  animals,  speaking  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  rivers. 

In  this  account  of  the  creation  it  is  stated  (line  21)  that  the 
goddess  Aruru  with  Marduk  created  mankind. 

In  another  Babylonian  poem,  the  Gilgamesh  epic,  which  contains 
the  Babylonian  story  of  the  flood,  there  is  an  account  of  the  crea¬ 
tion  of  man  which  accords  much  more  closely  with  Gen.  2  :  7  than 
that  which  we  are  considering.  It  runs: 

The  goddess  Aruru,  when  she  heard  this, 

A  man  like  Anu  she  formed  in  her  heart. 

Aruru  washed  her  hands; 

Clay  she  pinched  off  and  spat  upon  it; 

Eabani,  a  hero  she  created, 

An  exalted  offspring,  with  the  might  of  .Ninib. 

Here  is  clearly  a  tradition,  similar  to  Genesis,  that  God  formed 
man  from  the  dust  of  the  ground.  The  allusion  to  Aruru  indicates 
that  this  formed  a  part  of  the  early  Babylonian  tradition.  There 
is  considerable  evidence  that  in  an  earlier  form  of  the  Babylonian 
account  Marduk  had  no  place.  He  was  introduced  into  it  later  by 
the  priests  of  Babylon.  Aruru  was  in  that  earlier  form  the  creator 
of  man,  and  probably  was  said  to  have  formed  him  from  clay,  as 
in  the  Gilgamesh  epic. 

While  these  points  of  likeness  are  evident,  there  are  great  differ¬ 
ences  between  the  two  narratives.  The  Babylonian  account  speaks 
not  only  of  grass  and  reeds  as  non-existent,  but  of  cities  and  temples 
also,  which,  it  tells  us,  were  created  later.  It  has  no  picture  of 
Eden;  its  thought  centers  in  well-known  Babylonian  cities.  While 
Marduk  appears  as  supreme  in  the  Babylonian  poem,  the  gods  and 
Anunaki,  or  spirits  of  earth,  are  recognized,  so  that  the  polytheistic 
view  is  not  entirely  absent.  In  the  Biblical  picture,  on  the  other 


ANOTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  CREATION  257 


hand,  Jehovah  is  supreme.  Opinions  of  scholars  differ  as  to  whether 
there  was  any  real  connection  between  the  two  narratives.  What¬ 
ever  opinion  one  may  hold  on  this  point,  there  can  be  no  question 
but  that  the  second  chapter  of  Genesis  is  dominated  by  those  re¬ 
ligious  conceptions  which  were  so  uniquely  manifested  in  Israel, 
while  they  are  absent  from  the  Babylonian  narrative. 

{For  a  new  Babylonian  account  of  the  creation  of  man,  see  Ap¬ 
pendix.) 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  BABYLONIAN  SABBATH 

Feast  of  Marduk  and  Zarpanit.  A  Day  Called  Shabatum.  A  Day  in  Some 

Tablets  at  Yale. 


1.  Feast  of  Marduk  and  Zarpanit. 

The  seventh  day  is  the  feast  of  Marduk  and  Zarpanit.  It  is  an  evil  day. 
The  shepherd  of  the  great  people  shall  not  eat  flesh  cooked  on  the  coals  which  is 
smoked.  The  garment  of  his  body  he  shall  not  change;  a  clean  one  he  shall  not 
put  on.  A  sacrifice  he  shall  not  offer.  The  king  in  a  chariot  shall  not  ride.  In 
triumph  he  shall  not  speak.  In  the  secret  place  a  seer  shall  not  give  an  oracle. 
The  physician  shall  not  lay  his  hand  on  the  sick.  It  is  not  fitting  to  utter  a 
malediction.  At  night  before  Marduk  and  Ishtar  the  king  shall  bring  his  offer¬ 
ing;  a  libation  he  shall  pour  out.  The  lifting  up  of  his  hands  shall  then  be  pleas¬ 
ing  to  the  gods.1 

This  passage  occurs  in  a  tablet  which  describes  the  nature  of  all 
the  days  of  a  month.  The  same  prohibitions  are  recorded  for  the 
fourteenth,  nineteenth,  twenty-first,  and  twenty-eighth  days. 
The  tablet  has  often  been  brought  into  comparison  with  the  Hebrew 
sabbath,  partly  because  the  seventh,  fourteenth,  twenty-first,  and 
twenty-eighth  days  are  involved,  partly  because  the  prohibitions 
remind  the  reader  of  Exodus  20  :  8-11  and  Deut.  5  :  12-15. 

Exod.  20  :  8-11.  Remember  the  sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy.  Six  days 
shalt  thou  labor,  and  do  all  thy  work:  but  the  seventh  day  is  a  sabbath  unto  the 
Lord  thy  God:  in  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy 
daughter,  thy  manservant,  nor  thy  maidservant,  nor  thy  cattle,  nor  thy  stranger 
that  is  within  thy  gates:  for  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea, 
and  all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh  day:  wherefore  the  Lord  blessed 
the  sabbath  day,  and  hallowed  it. 

Deut.  5  :  12-15.  Observe  the  sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy,  as  the  Lord  thy 
God  commanded  thee.  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor,  and  do  all  thy  work:  but 
the  seventh  day  is  a  sabbath  unto  the  Lord  thy  God :  in  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any 
work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter,  nor  thy  manservant,  nor  thy  maid¬ 
servant,  nor  thine  ox,  nor  thine  ass,  nor  any  of  thy  cattle,  nor  thy  stranger  that  is 
within  thy  gates;  that  thy  manservant  and  thy  maidservant  may  rest  as  well  as 
thou.  And  thou  shalt  remember  that  thou  wast  a  servant  in  the  land  of  Egypt, 

1  Translated  from  Rawlinson’s  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  IV,  2d  ed.,  pi.  32,  lines 
28-38. 


258 


THE  BABYLONIAN  SABBATH 


259 


and  the  Lord  thy  God  brought  thee  out  thence  by  a  mighty  hand  and  by  a 
stretched  out  arm:  therefore  the  Lord  thy  God  commanded  thee  to  keep  the 
sabbath  day. 

In  reality  the  Babylonian  prohibitions  apply  to  certain  classes 
of  people  only,  and  not  to  the  whole  population.  A  study  of  the 
contract  literature  shows  that  there  was  no  cessation  of  business 
upon  these  days  of  the  month,  so  that  resemblance  to  the  Hebrew 
sabbath  is  really  quite  slight. 

2.  A  Day  Called  Shabatum. 

These  days  were  not,  so  far  as  we  know,  called  shabatum ,  but 
another  tablet1  tells  us  that  the  fifteenth  day  of  each  month  was  so 
called.  Shabatum  is  etymologically  the  same  as  the  Hebrew  sab¬ 
bath.  As  the  Babylonian  months  wTere  lunar,  the  fifteenth  was 
the  time  of  the  full  moon,  so  that  in  Babylonian  the  day  denoted 
the  completion  of  the  moon’s  growth.  In  the  Old  Testament 
“sabbath”  is  sometimes  coupled  with  “new  moon,”  as  though  it  may 
also  have  designated  a  similar  day.  (See  2  Kings  4  :  23;  Amos 
8  :  5;  Hosea  2  :  11;  Isa.  1  :  13;  66  :  23,  and  Ezek.  46  :  3.)  This 
Babylonian  shabatum  can,  in  any  event,  have  no  direct  relationship 
to  the  Hebrew  sabbath  as  a  day  of  rest  once  a  week. 

3.  A  Day  in  Some  Tablets  at  Yale. 

A  series  of  tablets  in  the  Yale  Babylonian  Collection,  a  portion 
of  which  has  been  published  by  Prof.  Clay,'2  shows  that  special  sac¬ 
rifices  were  offered  on  the  seventh,  fourteenth,  twenty-first,  and 
twenty-eighth  of  each  month.  These  sacrifices  show  that  these 
days  were  thought  to  have  some  peculiar  significance,  but,  what¬ 
ever  that  significance  may  have  been,  the  evidence  cited  shows 
that  it  was  not  the  same  as  that  of  the  Hebrew  sabbath. 


1  See  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  Vol.  XXVI,  pp.  51-56. 

* Miscellaneous  Inscriptions  in  the  Yale  Babylonian  Collection,  New  Haven,  1916,  Nos.  46-51. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  LEGEND  OF  ADAPA  AND  THE  FALL  OF  MAN 

Comparison  with  Genesis  3.  The  Adapa  Myth. 

Four  fragments  of  the  Adapa  myth  have  been  found.  They 
really  present  but  three  parts  of  the  story,  as  two  of  them  cover  the 
same  ground.  These  three  parts  of  the  story  are  translated  in  this 
chapter.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  fragments  do  not  present  the 
entire  story.  Between  fragments  I  and  II,  as  well  as  between 
fragments  II  and  III,  some  lines  have  fallen  out,  and  the  last  frag¬ 
ment  is  broken  away  before  the  end  of  the  account  is  reached. 
Nevertheless,  from  the  parts  which  we  have  it  is  clear  that  the 
Babylonians  shared  with  the  Hebrews  some  of  the  traditions  re¬ 
corded  in  the  third  chapter  of  Genesis. 

1.  Comparison  with  Genesis  3. 

In  the  first  place,  Adapa,  like  Adam,  had  gained  knowledge. 
This  knowledge  carried  with  it  a  power  hitherto  regarded  as  an 
attribute  of  divinity.  It  enabled  Adapa  to  break  the  wing  of  the 
south  wind;  it  tempted  Adam  and  Eve  “to  become  like  God,  know¬ 
ing  good  and  evil”  (Gen.  3:5).  As  in  Genesis,  knowledge  did  not 
carry  with  it  immortality.  Ea,  the  god  who  had  permitted  Adapa 
to  become  wise,  feared  that  he  might  gain  immortality,  as  Jeho¬ 
vah  thought  that  Adam  might  “put  forth  his  hand  and  take  of  the 
tree  of  life  and  eat  and  live  forever”  (Gen.  3  :  22).  (For  Babylo¬ 
nian  and  Assyrian  conceptions  of  the  tree  of  life,  see  Figs.  291, 293.) 

Ea  accordingly  told  Adapa  a  falsehood  when  he  was  about  to  go 
into  the  presence  of  the  supreme  god,  Anu,  in  order  to  prevent  him 
from  eating  the  food  that  would  make  him  immortal;  Jehovah  drove 
man  from  the  garden  where  the  tree  of  life  grew.  The  two  accounts 
agree  in  the  thought  that  immortality  could  be  obtained  by  eating 
a  certain  kind  of  food.  The  lines  at  the  end  of  the  Adapa  story  are 
much  broken,  but  they  make  it  clear  that  as  a  punishment  for  what 
he  had  done,  Adapa  was  subjected  to  sickness,  disease,  and  restless¬ 
ness.  This  corresponds  to  the  toil  inflicted  upon  man  (Gen.  3:17- 
19),  and  the  pangs  of  childbirth  imposed  upon  woman  (Gen.  3  :  16). 
It  appears  also  that  as  Adam  and  Eve  were  clothed  with  skins  in  con¬ 
sequence  of  their  deed  (Gen.  3  :  21),  so  Adapa  was  clothed  by  Anu 
in  a  special  clothing. 

260 


THE  LEGEND  OF  ADAPA 


261 


These  similarities  indicate  that  the  Babylonians  possessed  the 
same  general  ideas  of  the  connection  of  increasing  knowledge,  with 
the  attributes  of  divinity  on  the  one  hand,  and  with  suffering  and 
clothing  on  the  other,  which  are  presented  in  Genesis.  An  increas¬ 
ing  number  of  modern  scholars  regard  the  Babylonian  story  as  an 
earlier  form  of  a  narrative  which  the  Hebrew  writer  took  and  puri¬ 
fied.  Others  hold  that  it  is  a  somewhat  degenerate  form  of  the 
Biblical  narrative.  In  any  event,  the  Babylonian  story  proves  the 
Biblical  conceptions  to  be  very  ancient,  and,  by  its  contrasts  to  that 
of  Genesis,  it  exhibits  the  dignity  and  religious  value  of  the  Biblical 
narrative.  In  the  Babylonian  myth,  the  gods,  Ea  and  Anu,  are 
divided  and  work  at  cross  purposes;  Ea  tells  a  falsehood  to  accom¬ 
plish  his  end.  Genesis,  while  it  represents  Jehovah  as  feeling  and 
acting  in  a  much  more  human  way  than  some  parts  of  the  Bible  do, 
still  portrays  him  as  a  consistently  righteous,  omnipotent  God,  who 
demands  obedience,  and  whose  punishments  are  the  reasonable 
recompense  for  transgressions.  The  superiority  of  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment  stands  out  in  striking  contrast. 

2.  The  Adapa  Myth.1 

I 

1.  He  possessed  intelligence . 

2.  His  command  like  the  command  of  Anu . 

3.  Wide  intelligence  he  (Ea)  made  perfect  for  him,  the  destiny  of  the  country 

to  reveal. 

4.  Unto  him  wisdom  he  gave;  eternal  life  he  did  not  grant  him. 

5.  In  those  days,  in  those  years  the  wise  man  of  Eridu, — 

6.  Ea  as  a  chief  (?)  among  men  had  created  him, — 

7.  A  wise  man  whose  command  no  one  could  restrain, 

8.  The  prudent,  the  most  wise  among  the  Anunnaki  was  he, 

9.  Blameless,  clean  of  hands,  anointed,  the  observer  of  divine  commands, 

10.  With  the  bakers  he  made  bread, 

11.  With  the  bakers  of  Eridu  he  made  bread, 

12.  The  food  and  water  of  Eridu  he  prepared  daily, 

13.  With  his  clean  hands  he  prepared  the  table, 

14.  And  without  him  the  table  was  not  cleared. 

15.  The  ship  he  steered;  fishing  and  hunting  for  Eridu  he  did. 

16.  Then  Adapa  of  Eridu, 

17.  While  Ea  lay  upon  a  bed  in  a  chamber  (?), 

18.  Daily  the  closing  of  Eridu  he  made  right. 

19.  At  the  pure  quay,  the  quay  of  the  new-moon,  he  embarked  upon  the  ship, 

20.  The  wind  blew,  his  ship  sailed, 

21.  With  the  rudder  he  steered  the  ship 

22.  Upon  the  broad  sea. 


1  Translated  from  Recueil  de  Traveaux ,  XX,  127,  ff.;  Winckler  and  Abel’s  Thontafelnfund  von 
El-Amarna,  No.  240,  Keilinschriftliche  Bibliothek,  VI,  p.  xvii,  f.,  and  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of 
Biblical  Archceology,  XVI,  294,  f. 


262 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


II 

1 . . . . . . 

2.  The  south  wind  [blew  and  capsized  him], 

3.  To  the  house  [of  the  fishes]  it  made  him  sink, 

4.  “O  south  wind  [increase]  thy  rage  as  much  as  [thou  art  able], 

5.  Thy  wing  I  will  break.”  As  he  spoke  with  his  mouth, 

6.  The  wing  of  the  south  wind  was  broken,  seven  days 

7.  The  south  wind  blew  not  on  the  land.  Anu 

8.  To  his  messenger,  Ilabrat,  said: 

9.  “Why  has  the  south  wind  not  blown  upon  the  land  for  seven  days?” 

10.  His  messenger  Ilabrat  answered  him,  “My  lord 

11.  Adapa,  the  son  of  Ea,  the  wing  of  the  south  wind 

12.  Has  broken.”  Anu,  when  he  heard  this, 

13.  Cried  “Help!”  He  ascended  his  throne:  “Let  some  one  bring  him  to  me. 

14.  Likewise  Ea,  who  knows  the  heavens,  summon  him, 

14a.  To  King  Ea  to  come.”  1 

14b.  To  him  he  caused  word  to  be  borne, 

14c . To  him,  to  King  Ea, 

14d.  He  sent  a  messenger. 

14e.  He  is  of  great  understanding,  he  knows  the  hearts  of  the  great  gods, 
14f . of  the  heavens,  he  establishes  it. 

15.  [A  soiled  garment  he  made]  him  wear;  with  a  mourning  garment  clad  him, 

16.  He  clothed  him  and  gave  him  counsel, 

17.  Saying:  “Adapa,  into  the  presence  of  Anu,  the  king,  thou  art  going, 

18.  Fail  not  the  order,  my  word  keep, 

19.  When  thou  goest  up  to  heaven  and  approachest  the  gate  of  Anu, 

20.  At  the  gate  of  Anu,  Tammuz  and  Gishzida 

21.  Stand,  they  will  see  thee,  they  will  ask:  ‘Lord, 

22.  For  whose  sake  art  thou  thus,  Adapa?  For  whom 

23.  Art  thou  clad  in  a  mourning  garment?’  ‘In  our  country  two  gods  have 

vanished,  therefore 

24.  Am  I  thus.’  ‘Who  are  the  two  gods  who  in  the  land 

25.  Have  vanished?’  ‘Tammuz  and  Gishzida.’  They  will  look  at  one 

another  and 

26.  Be  astonished.  Favorable  words 

27.  To  Anu  they  will  speak.  A  joyful  countenance  of  Anu 

28.  They  will  reveal  to  thee.  When  thou  standest  in  the  presence  of  Anu, 

29.  Food  of  death  they  will  offer  thee  to  eat; 

30.  Thou  shalt  not  eat.  Water  of  death  they  will  offer  thee  to  drink; 

31.  Thou  shalt  not  drink.  A  garment  will  they  show  thee; 

32.  Put  it  on.  Oil  they  will  set  before  thee;  anoint  thyself. 

33.  The  command  which  I  give  thee,  forget  not.  The  word 

34.  Which  I  have  spoken  hold  fast.”  The  messenger 

35.  Of  Anu  came:  “Adapa  of  the  south  wind 

36.  The  wing  has  broken.  Into  my  presence  bring  him.” 

37.  The  road  to  heaven  he  made  him  take  and  to  heaven  he  ascended. 

38.  When  to  heaven  he  ascended,  when  he  approached  the  gate  of  Anu, 

39.  At  the  gate  of  Anu,  Tammuz  and  Gishzida  were  standing. 

40.  When  they  saw  him  they  cried:  “Adapa,  help! 

41.  Lord,  for  whose  sake  art  thou  thus? 

42.  For  whom  art  thou  clad  in  a  mourning  garment? 

43.  In  the  country  two  gods  have  vanished;  therefore  in  a  mourning  garment 

44.  Am  I  clad.  Who  are  the  two  gods  who  from  the  land  have  vanished?” 

1  The  lines  14a,  etc.,  are  supplied  from  a  parallel  tablet. 


THE  LEGEND  OF  ADAPA 


263 


45.  “Tammuz  and  Gishzida.”  They  looked  at  one  another  and 

46.  Were  astonished.  When  Adapa  before  Anu  the  king, 

47.  Approached,  Anu  saw  him  and  cried: 

48.  “Come,  Adapa,  why  of  the  south  wind  the  wing 

49.  Hast  thou  broken?”  Adapa  answered:  “Anu,  my  lord, 

50.  For  the  house  of  my  lord  in  the  midst  of  the  sea 

51.  I  was  catching  fish.  As  I  was  midway  of  the  voyage 

52.  The  south  wind  blew  and  capsized  me; 

53.  To  the  house  of  the  fishes  it  made  me  sink.  In  the  anger  of  my  heart 

54.  [The  south  wind]  I  cursed.  At  my  side  answered  Tammuz 

55.  And  Gishzida:  ‘The  heart  should  be  toward  Anu.’ 

56.  They  spoke,  he  was  appeased,  his  heart  was  won  (?). 

57.  “Why  has  Ea,  to  impure  man,  of  the  heavens 

58.  And  the  earth  revealed  the  heart? 

59.  Strong  (?)  has  he  made  him  (Adapa) ;  a  name  he  has  given  him. 

60.  We — what  can  we  do  to  him?  Food  of  life 

61.  Bring  him,  that  he  may  eat.”  Food  of  life 

62.  They  brought  him;  he  ate  it  not.  Water  of  life 

63.  They  brought  him;  he  drank  it  not.  A  garment 

64.  They  brought  him;  he  clothed  himself.  Oil 

65.  They  brought  him;  he  anointed  himself. 

66.  Anu  looked  at  him;  he  wondered  (?)  at  him. 

67.  “Come,  Adapa,  why  dost  thou  not  eat  nor  drink? 

68.  Now  thou  shalt  not  live;  men  are  mortal  (?).”  “Ea  my  lord 

69.  Said:  Thou  shalt  not  eat,  thou  shalt  not  drink.” 

70.  Take  him  and  bring  him  back  to  earth. 

71.  '..... . looked  upon  him. 

Ill 

1 . . . 

2.  He  commanded  him  and  he . 

3.  The  garment,  he  commanded  him  and  he  clothed  himself. 

4 . Anu  wondered  greatly  at  the  deed  of  Ea. 

5.  The  gods  of  heaven  and  earth,  as.  many  as  there  are:  “Who  is  thus 

mighty  (?)? 

6.  His  command  is  the  command  of  Anu.  Who  can  surpass  [him]?” 

7.  As  now  Adapa  from  the  horizon  to  the  zenith  of  the  heavens 

8 . looked,  he  saw  his  terror . {i.  e.,  the  terror  he  inspired) 

9.  [Which]  Anu  concerning  Adapa  upon  him . had  placed. 

10.  [The  service  (?)]  of  Ea  he  made  his  satisfaction. 

11.  Anu  fixed  as  his  lot  his  lordship  in  brilliance  to  the  distant  future. 

12 . Adapa,  the  seed  of  mankind, 

13.  [Who]  victoriously  broke  the  wing  of  the  south  wind, 

14.  And  to  heaven  he  ascended.  “Thus  let  it  be!” 

15  . that  which  he  in  evil  ways  imposed  on  the  people, 

16  . sickness  which  he  placed  in  the  bodies  of  people. 

17  . Ninkarrak  appeased. 

18.  Sickness  [shall  co]me,  his  disease  be  violent, 

19 . destruction  shall  fall  upon  him, 

20.  [In]  good  sleep  he  shall  not  rest, 

21 . shall  overturn  (?)  the  joy  of  people’s  hearts. 

(The  remainder  is  broken  away.) 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  PATRIARCHS  BEFORE  THE  FLOOD 


Babylonian  Long-lived  Kings.  Comparison  with  Genesis  5.  Comparison  with 
Genesis  4.  Comparison  with  the  List  of  Berossos. 


A  Biblical  narrative  that  challenges  attention  is  that  in  Gene¬ 
sis  5,  which  contains  the  list  of  long-lived  patriarchs  who  flourished 
before  the  flood.  This  narrative  finds  a  striking  parallel  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  tablet  which  tells  of  long-lived  kings  who  are  said  to  have 
ruled  in  ancient  Babylonia.  The  beginnings  of  all  the  columns  of 
the  tablet  are  broken  away.1 


1.  Babylonian  Long-lived  Kings 

Column  II 


Column  I 
2 . ruled  900  (?)  years; 


7.  Galumum 

8.  ruled  900  (?)  years; 

9.  Zugagib 

10.  ruled  840  (?)  years; 

11.  A-ri-pi,  son  of  Mashgag, 

12.  ruled  720  years; 

13.  Etana,  the  shepherd, 

14.  who  ascended  to  heaven, 

15.  who  subdued  all  lands, 

16.  ruled  635  years; 

17.  Pilikam, 

18.  son  of  Etana, 

19.  ruled  350  years; 

20.  Enmenunna 

21.  reigned  611  years; 

22.  Melam-Kish, 

23.  son  of  Enmenunna, 

24.  ruled  900  years; 

25.  Barsalnunna, 

26.  son  of  Enmenunna, 

27.  ruled  1200  years; 

28.  Mes  (?)  zamu,  son  of  Barsalnunna, 

29.  ruled . years; 

30 . son  of  Barsalnunna; 


1.  from  Kish 

2.  the  kingdom 

3.  passed  to  Eanna. 

4.  In  Eanna 

5.  Meskingashir, 

6.  son  of  Shamash,2 

7.  as  lord, 

8.  as  king, 

9.  ruled  325  years. 

10.  Meskingashir 

11.  entered  into 

12.  and  went  out  from . 

13.  Enmeirgan, 

14.  15.  son  of  Meskingashir, 

16.  king  of  Erech, 

17.  the  people  of  Erech 

18.  strengthened, 

19.  as  king 

20.  ruled  420  years. 

21.  Lugalbanda,  the  shepherd, 

22.  ruled  1200  years. 

23.  Dumuzi,  the  hunter3  (?), 

24.  Whose  city  is  among  fishes, 

25.  ruled  100  years. 

26.  Gilgamesh, 

27.  whose  father 

28.  was  lord  of  Kullab, 

29.  ruled  126  years. 


1  Translated  from  Poebel,  Historical  and  Grammatical  Texts,  Philadelphia,  1914,  No.  2.  From 
the  beginning  of  each  column  16  to  18  lines  are  broken  away. 

2  The  sun-god. 

3  Perhaps  “palm-tree-fertilizer”  instead  of  hunter.  It  is  not  the  usual  ideogram  for  hunter, 
but  one  element  stands  for  “hand”  and  the  other  for  “female  flower  of  the  date  palm.”  (See 
Barton,  The  Origin  and  Development  of  Babylonian  Writing,  Nos.  311  (12)  and  303 (®). 

264 


PATRIARCHS  BEFORE  THE  FLOOD 


265 


Column  III 

(The  kingdom) 

1.  of  Erech 

2.  passed  to  Ur. 

3.  In  Ur 

4.  Mesannipada 

5.  was  king; 

6.  he  ruled  80  years. 

7.  Meskiagnunna, 

8.  son  of  Mesannipada, 

9.  ruled  30  years. 

10.  Elu . 

11.  ruled  25  years. 

12.  Balu . 

13.  36  years. 

14.  4  kings 

15.  ruled  171  years. 

16.  As  to  Ur 

17.  the  kingdom 

18.  passed  to  Awan.1 

Column  IV2 

1.  ruled  21  years. 

2.  Ishme-Dagan, 

3.  son  of  Idin-Dagan, 

4.  ruled  21  years. 

5.  Libit-Ishtar, 

6.  son  of  Idin-Dagan, 

7.  ruled  11  years. 

8.  Ur-Ninib, 

9.  son  of  Im . . 


Column  V 

1.  Total  51  kings  — 

2.  their  years  were  18000. .  + 

3.  9  years . months . 

4.  Four  times 


5.  in  Kish: 

6.  total  22  kings  — 

7.  their  years  were  2610+ 

8.  6  months,  15  days. 

9.  Five  times 

10.  in  Erech: 

11.  total  13  kings  — 

12.  their  years  were  396  — 

13.  ruled. 

14.  Three  times 

15.  in  Ur: 

16.  total  3  kings  — 

17.  their  years  were  356  — 

18.  ruled. 

19.  Once 

20.  in  Awan: 

21.  total  1  king  — 

22.  his  rule  was  7  years. 

23.  Once 

24.  in3 . 

Column  VI 

1.  (total . )  kings  — 

2.  (their  years  )were  196  — 

3.  ruled. 

4.  Twice  in  Agade: 

5.  total  21  kings  — 

6.  their  years  were  125  years 

7.  40  days  —  ruled. 

8.  Once 

9.  in  the  people 

10.  of  Gutium: 

11.  total  11  kings  — 

12.  their  years  were  159  years  — 

13.  ruled 

14.  in  Isin  (?). 

15.  Eleven 

16.  royal  cities 
47.  ruled. 

18.  Total  134  kings. 

19.  Grand  total  28876+ 

20.  years, 

21 . months.3 


This  interesting  document  does  not  stand  alone.  Three  other 
tablets  published  in  the  same  volume4  contain  similar  material, 
though  all  that  would  have  a  bearing  on  our  present  topic  is  too 


1  Seven  lines  are  broken  away  from  the  end  of  the  column. 

2  The  subject-matter  shows  that  several  columns  are  entirely  broken  away.  Dr.  Poebel 
estimates  that  Column  IV  was  originally  Column  X.  If  this  is  true,  six  columns  are  entirely  lost. 
Of  Column  IV,  only  a  few  lines  out  of  the  middle  remain. 

3  A  number  of  lines  are  lost  at  the  end  of  the  column. 

4  Numbers  3,  4,  and  5. 


266 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


broken  for  connected  translation.  It  is  clear  from  the  translation 
here  given  that  the  Babylonians  ascribed  to  some  early  kings  reigns 
as  long,  and  even  longer  in  some  cases,  than  those  ascribed  to  the 
antediluvian  patriarchs  in  Genesis  5. 

The  peculiar  spelling  of  Galumum  and  Zugagib  in  the  Babylo¬ 
nian  characters,  together  with  the  meaning  of  the  words,  shows  that 
they  are  animal  names.  Zugagib  means  “scorpion”  and  Galumum, 
“lamb.”  In  the  lines  which  preceded,  probably  similar  animal 
names  were  recorded.  Perhaps  this  expresses  the  idea  that  animals 
were  made  before  men,  as  is  stated  in  Gen.  1  :  24-26. 

2.  Comparison  with  Genesis  5. — The  next  name,  Aripi,1  may 
also  have  been  read  Adime,  and  perhaps  was  so  read  by  the  Sume¬ 
rians  themselves.  If  it  came  to  the  Hebrews  in  this  form  they 
would  naturally  equate  it  with  the  Hebrew  Adam,  which  means 
“man.” 

Etana,  the  shepherd,  is  said  in  this  list  to  have  gone  to  heaven. 
This  at  once  suggests  the  fate  of  Enoch,  who  “was  not;  for  God  took 
him”  (Gen.  5  :  24).  In  the  Sumerian  the  words  “to  heaven”  are 
AN-SU,  which  may  also  be  read  AN-KU.  If  these  words  were  not 
fully  understood  by  the  Hebrews,  to  whom  Sumerian  was  not  only 
a  foreign  language  but  a  dead  language,  they  might  easily  be  mis¬ 
taken  for  a  proper  name,  and  would  in  Hebrew  give  us  Enoch.2 
Another  suggestion  as  to  the  method  of  borrowing  is  also  possible. 
Later  traditions  cherished  the  name  of  a  king,  Enmeduranki,  whom 
they  called  a  king  of  Sippar  or  Agade.3  Enmeduranki  means  “the 
hero  who  binds  together  heaven  and  earth.”  Etana  is  in  our  list  of 
kings  called  a  king  of  Kish,  but  in  later  times  kings  of  Kish  were  also 
called  kings  of  Agade.  It  is  altogether  probable,  therefore,  that  the 
“hero  who  binds  together  heaven  and  earth”  is  simply  another 
designation  of  Etana  who  went  to  heaven.  The  last  two  syllables 
of  Enmeduranki,  i.  e.,  AN-KI,  “heaven  and  earth,”  would,  if 
taken  over  into  Hebrew,  also  give  Enoch.  If  we  assume  that 

1  Poebel  reads  the  name  A  rpi,  apparently  because  in  another  fragmentary  tablet  he  thinks  the 
name  is  Arbum,  but  both  Poebel’s  copy  and  the  photograph  of  the  tablet  indicate  that  the  reading 
was  A-ri-pi.  The  writer  has  endeavored  to  settle  the  matter  by  collating  both  tablets,  but  both 
have  unfortunately  crumbled  too  much  to  make  collation  decisive. 

2  Sumerian  words  which  begin  with  a  vowel,  when  they  are  taken  over  into  Hebrew,  assume  a 
guttural  at  the  beginning.  Thus  the  Sumerian  AS-TAN,  “one,”  which  became  in  Semitic  Baby¬ 
lonian  is  tin,  comes  into  Hebrew  as  ‘esti  with  an  Ayin  at  the  beginning.  (See  Jer.  1  :  3  and  else¬ 
where.)  Ayin  in  Semitic  phonetics  frequently  changes  to  Heth.  (See  Brockelmann’s  Vergleich- 
ende  Grammatik  der  Semitischen  Sprachen,  I,  §  55,  b,  a.)  In  accordance  with  these  facts  AN-KU 
came  into  Hebrew  as  Henok. 

3  He  is  mentioned  in  Zimmern’s  Ritualtafeln  fiir  den  Wahrsager,  Leipzig,  1901,  No.  24  :  1,  ff., 
as  the  discoverer  of  the  art  of  forecasting  events  by  pouring  oil  on  water. 


PATRIARCHS  BEFORE  THE  FLOOD 


267 


Etana  and  Enoch  are  the  same,  we  may  at  a  later  point  be  able  to 
determine  by  which  of  these  processes  the  name  is  most  likely  to 
have  come  into  Hebrew.  In  an  old  poem,  fragments  of  which 
have  been  found  on  some  broken  tablets  from  Nineveh,  the  fortunes 
of  Etana  were  given  in  detail.  He  is  said  to  have  been  carried  to 
heaven  on  the  back  of  an  eagle.  If  he  be  really  the  prototype  of 
Enoch,  this  lends  a  touch  of  realism  to  the  narrative. 

The  Sumerian  name  Enmenunna  means  “exalted  hero”  or 
“exalted  man.”  A  natural  translation  of  this  into  Semitic  Baby¬ 
lonian  about  2000  b.  c.  would  be  Mutu-elu,1  or,  in  one  word,  amelu , 
and  an  equally  natural  translation  of  this  into  Hebrew  would  give 
us  Enosh. 

Pilikam,2  the  next  name,  means  in  Sumerian  “with  intelligence  to 
build.”  In  Babylonian  Semitic  it  would  be  literally  Ina-uzni- 
er e^su ,  or,  rendered  in  one  word,  ummanu,  “artificer.”  The  Hebrew 
translation  of  this  is  Kenan,  which  means  “artificer.”  Melamkish 
gives  us  the  Hebrew  Lamech  by  the  simple  elision  of  the  first  and 
last  consonants.  All  people,  are  lazy  and  words  sometimes  wear 
away  both  at  the  beginning  and  at  the  end.3 

Barsalnunna,  translated  into  Semitic  Babylonian,  becomes 
Shithu-elu .4  Seth  may  well  be  a  transfer  of  a  part  of  this  name  to 
Hebrew.  The  final  radical  of  the  first  part  of  the  name  may  have 
worn  away  or  have  been  accidentally  omitted. 

Meskingashir  is  resolvable  into  four  elements,  MES-KI-INGA5- 
SHIR,6  “the  hero”  or  “man  who  is  great”  or  “exalted.”  Translate 
this  into  Semitic  Babylonian  and  it  becomes  Mutu-la-elu,  which  is 
almost  exactly  Methuselah. 

Enmeirgan  becomes  when  translated  into  Semitic  Mutu-salal- 

1  Poebel  has  shown,  Historical  Texts,  114,  that  EN-ME  designates  a  hero  or  special  kind  of 
priest.  Mutu  in  Semitic  means  both  “man”  and  “a  kind  of  priest”;  cf.  Muss-Arnolt,  Assyrisch- 
Englisck-Deutsches  Handworterbuch,  619,  620,  and  Knudtzon,  El-Amarna  Tafeln,  No.  55,  43. 
Mutu  was  a  popular  element  in  Semitic  proper  names  about  2000  b.  c.,  but  later  ceased  to  be 
employed. 

2  The  sign  kam  Poebel  failed  to  recognize  .  It  is  No.  364X  of  Barton’s  'Origin  and  Development 
of  Babylonian  Writing.  It  is  sometimes  employed  in  early  texts  instead  of  other  signs  which  had 
the  values  ka  or  kam.  Here  it  is  used  for  sign  No.  357  of  the  work  referred  to. 

3  Langdon  makes  the  suggestion  ( Sumerian  Epic  of  Paradise,  the  Flood,  and  the  Fall  of  Man, 
Philadelphia,  1915,  p.  56,  note  7)  that  Lamech  is  the  Sumerian  LUMHA,  an  epithet  of  the  Baby¬ 
lonian  god  Ea  as  the  patron  of  music.  A  more  plausible  theory  would  be  that  Lamech  is  a  corrup¬ 
tion  of  a  king’s  name,  as  suggested  above,  and  after  it  was  corrupted  it  was  confused  with  the 
name  of  the  Sumerian  god  LAMGA,  the  constructive  god,  whose  emblem  was  the  sign  for  carpenter. 
(See  Barton,  work  cited,  No.  503.) 

4  See  Meissner,  Seltene  assyrische  Ideogramme,  No.  1139. 

6  See  Barton,  work  cited,  No.  275(5).  IN  is  the  Sumerian  verb  preformative. 

9  See  Delitzsch,  Sumerisches  Glossar,  p.  262,  f. 


268 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


eqla,1  and  Mahalalel  is  a  much  closer  transfer  of  the  first  two  ele¬ 
ments  of  this  to  Hebrew  than  are  Sennacherib,  Esar-haddon, 
Merodach-baladan,  and  Evil-merodach  of  the  names  Sin-akhi-irba, 
Ashur-akhi-iddina,  Marduk-apal-iddin,  and  Amel-Marduk.  Finally 
Dumuzi  means  “son  of  life,”  or  “living  son,”  and  Jared2  means 
“descendant.” 

The  equivalent  of  Noah  does  not  appear  in  this  list,  but  there  is 
no  doubt  that  he  was  Ziugiddu,  otherwise  called  Ut-napishtim,  of 
the  Babylonian  accounts  of  the  flood. 

We  have  then  the  following  equivalents,  four  of  which  are  Hebrew 
translations  of  Sumerian  names;  three,  transfers  into  Hebrew  of  the 
whole  or  of  parts  of  Semitic  Babylonian  equivalents  of  these 
Sumerian  names,  two  of  which  are  transfers  to  Hebrew  of  portions 
of  a  Sumerian  original,  and  one  of  which,  Noah,  is  still  unexplained. 


Sumerian 

Semitic  Babylonian 

Hebrew 

Adime 

Adam 

Barsalnunna 

Shithu-elu 

Seth 

Enmenunna 

Mutu-elu  (or  amelu) 

Enosh 

Pelikam 

Ina-uzni-ereshu  (or  ummanu) 

Kenan 

Enmeirgan 

Mutu-salal-gan 

Mahalalel 

Dumuzi 

Apal-napisti 

Jared 

Etana 

Enoch 

Meskingashir 

Mutu-sa-elu 

Methuselah 

Melamkish 

Lamech 

Ziugiddu 

Noah 

Of  course,  it  may  be  objected  that  our  list  of  kings  did  not  furnish 
the  originals  of  these  patriarchs,  since  there  are  more  kings  than 
patriarchs,  even  though  some  of  the  names  of  kings  have  been  lost 
by  the  breaking  of  the  tablet.  In  this  connection,  however,  one 
should  remember  that  in  1  Chron.  1-9,  many  names  which  appear 
in  the  earlier  books  of  the  Bible  are  omitted,  and  that  in  Matt.  1  :  8, 
three  kings — Ahaziah,  Joash,  and  Amaziah — are  omitted  from  the 
genealogy  of  Christ.  (Compare  2  Kings  11-15.)  It  appears,  then, 
that  Biblical  writers  did  not  always  copy  a  full  list. 

It  thus  seems  that  the  tablet  translated  above  may  be  related  to 
the  text  of  Genesis  5  in  the  names  of  the  patriarchs  as  well  as  in  the 
matter  of  their  ages.  When  we  recall  that  the  tablet  was  appar¬ 
ently  written  in  the  year  2170  b.  c.,  it  seems  probable  that  it  may 
be  a  source  from  which  the  Biblical  names  came. 

1  See  Barton,  work  cited,  No.  229(l8t 

2  Jared  might,  of  course,  be  a  corruption  of  Irad  (see  p.  270).  It  could  have  arisen  by  the  wear¬ 
ing  away  of  the  Hebrew  letter  A  yin. 


PATRIARCHS  BEFORE  THE  FLOOD 


269 


3.  Comparison  with  Genesis  4. 

But  our  examination  of  the  matter  cannot  stop  here.  In  Gen.  4  : 
16-23  there  is  a  list  of  the  descendants  of  Cain  strikingly  similar  to 
the  list  of  the  descendants  of  Seth  in  Genesis  5 .  If  the  names  of  Adam 
and  Abel  be  supplied  from  Gen.  4:1,2,  the  two  lists  appear  as  follows: 


Genesis  4 
Adam 


Abel  Seth 
Enosh 

Cain  (Hebrew  Jp) 
Enoch 

Irad  (Hebrew  1TJ?) 
Mehujael 
Methushael 
Lamech 


Genesis  5 
Adam 


Seth 

Enosh 

Kenan  (Hebrew  “IV  p) 

Mahalalel 

Jared  (Hebrew  TV) 

Enoch 

Methuselah 

Lamech 

Noah 


The  close  parallelism  of  these  two  lists  of  names  is  really  greater 
than  it  appears  to  the  English  reader  to  be.  Cain,  which  means 
“artificer,”  is  in  Hebrew  the  same  word  as  Kenan,  lacking  only  one 
formative  letter  at  the  end.  Irad  and  Jared  differ  in  Hebrew  only 
by  the  wearing  away  of  one  consonant.  Mehujael  is  as  much  like 
Mahalalel,  and  Methushael  as  much  like  Methuselah  as  the  Assyrian 
name,  of  Tiglath-pileser,  Tukultu-apal-esharra,  is  like  Tiglath- 
pileser,  while  Enoch  and  Lamech  are  the  same. 

The  importance  of  this  likeness  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  so- 
called  critical  scholars  claim  that  these  two  lists  of  names  are  in 
reality  the  same  original  list  as  it  came  through  two  lines  of  tradi¬ 
tion  and  was  worked  up  differently  by  two  writers.  This  view  has 
been  vigorously  opposed  by  some  conservative  scholars,  notably  by 
the  late  Professor  Green,  of  Princeton.1 

Between  rival  critical  hypotheses.it  is  not  the  function  of  archae¬ 
ology  to  decide.  It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  the  names  of 
the  descendants  of  Genesis  4  can  be  equated  with  those  of  our  Baby¬ 
lonian  kings,  as  well  as  those  of  Gen.  5.  Adam,  Seth,  Enosh,  Cain, 
Enoch,  Mehujael,  and  Methushael  would  be  derived  exactly  as  it 
has  been  explained  that  the  corresponding  names  of  Genesis  5  could 
be  derived.  It  only  remains  to  explain  the  names  Abel  and  Irad. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  Abel  occupies  in  the  list  a  position  next  to 

1  See  his  Unity  of  the  Book  of  Genesis,  New  York,  1895,  Chapter  II. 


270 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Adam  and  Cain ;  Abel  is  also  said  to  have  been  a  shepherd.  In  the 
list  of  Babylonian  kings  Etana  the  shepherd  comes  in  between 
Adime  (Aripi)  and  Pilikam,  the  equivalent  of  Cain.  It  is  probable, 
therefore,  that  Etana  is  the  king  that  corresponds  to  Abel.  Etana 
is  described  in  the  Sumerian  as  “the  shepherd  who  went  to  heaven,” 
SIBA  LU  AN-SU  NI-IB-E-DA.  If  the  two  words  SIBA  LU  be¬ 
came  detached  and  misunderstood  as  a  proper  name,  the  s  at  the 
beginning,  according  to  a  well  known  phonetic  law,  could  become  h 
and  give  us  the  Hebrew  Abel.  Irad  may  also  be  ir-tu,  a  corruption 
of  ZI-IR-TU,  a  name  of  the  mother  of  Dumuzi,  who  may  at  times 
have  been  referred  to  as  the  son  of  ZI-IR-TU.1  These  possibilities 
are  not  proof  that  the  names  arose  as  suggested,  but  are  not  without 
weight. 

If  Abel  arose  from  the  traditions  of  Etana  and  Enoch  did  also, 
and  if  the  names  of  Genesis  4  are  derived  from  the  list  of  Babylonian 
kings,  then  Etana  figures  twice  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  Genesis. 
If  Enoch  is  a  fragment  of  the  name  Enmeduranki,  a  possibility 
already  recognized,  it  is  not  difficult  to  understand  how  Etana 
came  into  the  tradition  twice. 

4.  Comparison  with  the  List  of  Berossos. 

Another  list  of  names  awaits  comparison.  Berossos,  a  Baby¬ 
lonian  priest  who  died  about  260  b.  c.,  compiled  a  list  of  kings 
who  lived  before  the  flood,  and  attributed  to  them  incredibly  long 
reigns.  His  work  has  not  survived,  but  his  list  is  quoted  by  two 
early  Christian  writers,  Eusebius  and  Syncellus,  and  Hommel2  and 
Sayce3  have  claimed  that  his  names  are,  many  of  them,  identical 
with  the  patriarchs  of  Genesis  5. 

The  list  of  Berossos  is  as  follows: 


Kings 

Alorus . 

Alaparos . 

Amelon . 

Ammenon . 

Megalaros . 

Daonos  or  Daos 
Euedorachos.  .  . 
Amempsinos.  .  . 

Otiartes . 

Xisouthros.  .  .  . 
Total . 


Length  of  reign 

36,000  years 
10,800  “ 

46.800  “ 

43,200  “ 

64.800  “ 

36,000  “ 

64.800  “ 

36,000  “ 

28.800  “ 

64,800  “ 

432,000  years. 


1  See  Rawlinson’s  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  II,  59,  rev.  9,  and  Zimmern’s  Baby - 
lonischer  Gott  Tamuz,  p.  13. 

2  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  XV,  243-246.  3  Expository  Times,  X,  253. 


PATRIARCHS  BEFORE  THE  FLOOD 


271 


It  has  long  been  recognized  that  Amelon  is  the  Semitic  Babylonian 
word  amelu,  “man.”  It  is  a  Babylonian  synonym  of  Mutu-elu, 
the  equivalent  of  Enosh,  and  is  also  a  translation  of  Enmenunna. 
Ammenon  has  also  been  recognized  as  the  Semitic  Babylonian 
ummanu,  “artisan.”  It  is  a  translation  in  one  word  of  the  Sumerian 
Pilikam. 

Daonos  or  Daos  has,  too,  been  seen  to  be  the  phonetic  trans¬ 
literation  into  Greek  letters  of  the  Sumerian  Dumu,  the  first  part  of 
the  name  Dumuzi. 

Euedorachos  has  also  been  thought  to  be  the  Sumerian  Enmedur- 
anki,  whom  we  have  recognized  as  another  name  for  Etana.  Four 
of  the  names  of  Berossos  are  thus  easily  connected  with  names  in  the 
new  list  of  kings. 

The  fifth  one,  Megalaros,  might  be  a  corruption  either  of  Mutu- 
shalal  or  of  Mutu-sa-elu,  and  so  go  back  ultimately  either  to  En- 
meirgan  or  to  Meskingashir.  Xisouthros  is  clearly  the  same  person 
as  Ziugiddu.  He  had  no  connection  with  this  list  of  kings,  but  is, 
like  Noah  in  Genesis  5,  attached  to  it  on  account  of  the  flood. 
Hommel  long  ago  saw  that  Otiartes  is  the  same  as  Ubara-tutu,  who 
is  said  in  the  account  of  the  deluge  which  was  found  at  Nineveh  to 
have  been  the  father  of  Utnapishtim,  the  hero  of  the  deluge.1 
Berossos  has,  accordingly,  not  only  added  the  hero  of  the  deluge,  but 
has  displaced  one  of  the  names  from  the  king  list  in  order  to  find  a 
place  for  the  father  of  Xisouthros. 

The  other  names  are  puzzling.  Poebel  has  suggested2  that 
Alorus  may  be  a  Greek  corruption  of  the  Sumerian  name  Laluralim, 
who  is  said  to  have  been  a  king  of  Nippur.  An  old  text  which  con¬ 
tains  this  name3  is  accompanied  by  a  gloss  zugagib,  “scorpion,”4 
and  the  first  king  in  the  list  translated  above  is  Zugagib.  If,  there¬ 
fore,  this  suggestion  is  true,  the  name  may  go  back  to  the  same 
source  as  the  others,  after  all. 

Amempsinos  has  been  thought  by  some  to  be  a  corruption  of  the 
well  known  Babylonian  name  Amil-Sin.  There  was  an  Amil-Sin 
in  the  first  dynasty  of  Babylon,  but  why  the  name  should  be  in¬ 
serted  here  cannot  at  present  be  explained;  nor  has  a  satisfactory 
explanation  been  suggested  for  Alaparos. 

1  See  Chapter  VI,  p.  273.  2  Historical  Texts ,  p.  42. 

3  Rawlinson’s  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  V,  44,  17b.  The  Semitic  name  of  this 

king  is  also  said  to  have  been  Tabu-utul-bel.  He  is  the  one  whose  fortunes  correspond  so  closely 
to  those  of  Job.  (See  Chapter  XX.) 

4  See  Meissner,  Seltene  assyrische  Ideogramme,  No.  6945. 


272 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


The  above  discussion  may  be  summed  up  in  a  few  words.  The 
Babylonian  list  of  kings  with  which  this  chapter  begins  makes  no 
reference  to  the  flood,  neither  does  the  fourth  chapter  of  Genesis. 
All  the  names  in  Genesis  4  may  be  found  in  the  Babylonian  list, 
though  Etana  seems  to  have  been  inserted  twice  under  different 
names.  As  Genesis  5  omits  Abel,  it  has  Etana  only  once.  All  the 
other  names  of  Genesis  5,  except  Noah,  are  found  in  the  Babylonian 
list.  Noah  has  been  added  to  connect  the  list  with  the  flood.  The 
ages  of  the  patriarchs  in  Genesis  5  correspond  approximately  to  the 
general  lengths  of  the  reigns  assigned  to  the  kings  in  the  tablet. 
Berossos  seems  to  have  exercised  much  greater  freedom,  inserting 
several  names,  the  origin  of  some  of  which  cannot  now  be  made  out. 
He  also  greatly  exaggerated  the  lengths  of  the  kings’  reigns. 

These  correspondences  are  simply  noted.  It  is  but  a  few  months 
since  the  writer  discovered  them,  and  he  was  the  first  to  do  so.  It 
is  too  early  to  correctly  estimate  their  ultimate  significance.  It 
should,  however,  be  observed  that  the  Biblical  numbers  (Gen.  5) 
lack  the  gross  exaggerations  of  Berossos,  and  that,  if  the  correspond¬ 
ences  here  pointed  out  are  real,  the  tradition  embodied  in  Genesis 
is  carried  back  to  a  time  from  800  to  1000  years  earlier  than  Moses. 


CHAPTER  VI 


A  BABYLONIAN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  FLOOD,  FROM  A 
TABLET  WRITTEN  AT  NINEVEH  IN  THE  SEVENTH 
CENTURY  B.  C.1 

Translation  of  the  Text.  Comparison  with  Genesis  6-9.  Another  Babylonian 

Version. 


I.  Translation  of  the  Text. 

1.  Gilgamesh  said  to  him,  to  Utnapishtim,  the  far-away: 

2.  “I  look  upon  thee,  O  Utnapishtim, 

3.  Thy  appearance  is  unchanged;  thou  are  like  me; 

4.  Thou  art  not  at  all  different,  thou  art  like  me. 

5.  Thy  courage  is  unbroken,  to  make  combat, 

6.  On  thy  side  thou  liest  down — on  thy  back. 

7.  [Tell  me]  how  hast  thou  advanced  and  in  the  assembly  of  the  gods  hast 

found  life?” 

8.  Utnapishtim  spoke  to  him,  to  Gilgamesh: 

9.  I  will  reveal  to  thee,  O  Gilgamesh,  the  secret  story, 

10.  And  the  decision  of  the  gods  to  thee  will  I  relate. 

II.  Shurippak,  a  city  which  thou  knowest, 

12.  Is  situated  on  the  bank  of  the  Euphrates. 

13.  That  city  was  old  and  the  gods  in  it — 

14.  Their  hearts  prompted  them — the  great  gods — to  make  a  deluge. 

15.  [There  drew  near]  their  father  Anu, 

16.  Their  councillor,  the  warrior  Ellil, 

17.  Their  herald,  Enmashtu, 

18.  Their  hero,  Ennugi. 

19.  The  lord  of  wisdom,  Ea,  counselled  with  them; 

20.  Their  words  he  repeated  to  the  reed-hut: 

21.  “0  reed-hut,  reed-hut,  O  wall,  wall, 

22.  O  reed- hut,  hearken;  O  wall,  give  heed! 

23.  0  man  of  Shurippak,  son  of  Ubaratutu, 

24.  Pull  down  thy  house,  build  a  ship, 

25.  Leave  thy  possessions,  take  thought  for  thy  life, 

26.  Leave  thy  gods,  thy  life  save! 

27.  Embark  seed  of  life  of  all  kinds  on  a  ship! 

28.  The  ship  which  thou  shalt  build, 

29.  Measure  well  its  dimensions, 

30.  Make  to  correspond  its  breadth  and  its  length; 

31.  Upon  the  ocean  thou  shalt  launch  it.” 

32.  I  understood  and  spoke  to  Ea,  my  lord: 

33.  “[I  understand],  my  lord;  what  thou  hast  thus  commanded 

34.  I  will  honor  and  will  do. 

35.  [But]  what  shall  I  say  to  the  city,  the  people,  and  the  elders?” 

36.  Ea  opened  his  mouth  and  spake, 

1  Translated  from  Haupt’s  Das  Babylonische  Nimrodepos,  p.  134,  f. 

273 


274 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


37.  He  said  unto  me,  his  servant:  < 

38.  “Thus  shalt  thou  say  unto  them: 

39.  Know  that  me — Ellil  hates  me. 

40.  I  may  not  dwell  in  your  city, 

41.  On  Ellil’s  soil  I  may  not  lift  my  face. 

42.  I  must  go  down  to  the  ocean  with  Ea,  my  lord,  to  dwell. 

43.  Upon  you  will  he  (Ellil)  then  rain  abundance — 

44.  [A  catch]  of  birds,  a  catch  of  fishes, 

45 . a  rich  (?)  harvest. 

46.  [A  time  Shamash1  appointed,  at  evening]  the  senders  of  rain 

47.  [Shall  rain  upon]  you  a  mighty  rainstorm. 

48.  When  the  grey  of  dawn  brightens, 

(Lines  49-55  are  broken  away.) 

56.  The  strong . brought  what  was  needed. 

57.  On  the  fifth  day  I  raised  its  frame. 

58.  According  to  its  plan  (?)  its  walls  were  120  cubits  high; 

59.  120  cubits  correspondingly  was  the  extent  of  its  roof. 

60.  I  laid  down  its  hull;  I  enclosed  it. 

61.  I  constructed  it  in  storys,  up  to  six; 

62.  I  divided  it  [without  (?)]  into  seven  parts. 

63.  Its  interior  I  divided  into  nine  parts. 

64 . 1  fastened  in  its  midst. 

65.  I  looked  out  a  rudder,  and  prepared  what  was  necessary. 

66.  6  sars  of  bitumen  I  poured  over  its  outside  (?); 

67.  3  sars  of  bitumen  I  poured  over  its  interior. 

68.  3  sars  of  oil  the  people  who  carry  jars  brought. 

69.  Besides  a  sar  of  oil  which  was  used  as  a  libation, 

70.  2  sars  of  oil  the  ship’s  captain  stowed  away. 

71.  For  the  people  I  slaughtered  bullocks. 

72.  I  slaughtered  lambs  daily. 

73.  Must,  beer,  oil,  and  wine, 

74.  I  gave  the  people  to  drink  like  river-water. 

75.  I  made  a  feast,  like  a  new  year’s  festival. 

76.  I  opened  (?)  [a  box  of  ointment];  I  put  ointment  in  my  hand. 

77.  [By  the  setting]  of  great  Shamash,  the  ship  was  finished. 

78.  [To  move  it  from  the  stocks]  was  difficult. 

79.  The  men  cleared  the  ship’s  ways  above  and  below. 

80 . two-thirds  of  it. 

81.  With  all  that  I  had  I  laded  it  (the  ship); 

82.  With  all  the  silver  I  had  I  laded  it. 

83.  With  all  the  gold  I  had  I  laded  it. 

84.  With  all  the  living  things  I  had  I  laded  it. 

85.  I  embarked  on  the  ship  all  my  family  and  kindred. 

86.  Cattle  of  the  field,  beasts  of  the  field,  craftsmen,  all,  I  embarked. 

87.  A  fixed  time  Shamash  had  appointed,  [saying] : 

88.  “When  the  senders  of  rain  shall  rain  upon  you  a  mighty  rainstorm  at 

evening, 

89.  Embark  upon  the  ship  and  close  thy  door.” 

90.  The  appointed  time  approached, 

91.  The  senders  of  rain  sent  at  evening  a  heavy  rainstorm. 

92.  I  observed  the  appearance  of  the  day, 

93.  The  day  was  terrible  to  look  upon. 

1  The  sun. 


A  BABYLONIAN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  FLOOD  275 


94.  I  embarked  upon  the  ship,  I  closed  my  door. 

95.  To  the  master  of  the  ship,  to  Puzur-Amurru,  the  sailor, 

96.  I  entrusted  the  structure  together  with  its  contents. 

97.  When  dew-dawn  began  to  brighten, 

98.  There  arose  from  the  horizon  a  black  cloud; 

99.  The  god  Adad  thundered  in  its  midst, 

100.  While  Nebo  and  Sharru  marched  before; 

101.  They  went  as  heralds  over  mountain  and  country. 

102.  Nergal  tore  away  the  anchor, 

103.  Enmashtu  advanced,  the  floods  he  poured  down; 

104.  The  Anunnaki  raised  their  torches, 

105.  At  their  brightness  the  land  trembled. 

106.  The  raging  of  Adad  reached  to  heaven; 

107.  All  light  was  turned  to  darkness 

108 . the  land  like . 

109.  One  day  [raged  the  storm  (?)] 

110.  Swiftly  it  raged  [and  the  waters  covered]  the  mountains, 

111.  Like  a  battle  array  over  the  people  it  swept. 

112.  No  one  could  see  his  fellow; 

113.  No  more  were  people  recognized  in  heaven; 

114.  The  gods  were  frightened  at  the  deluge, 

115.  They  fled,  they  climbed  to  the  highest  heaven; 

116.  The  gods  crouched  like  dogs,  they  lay  down  by  the  walls. 

117.  Ishtar  cried  like  a  woman  in  travail, 

118.  Wailed  the  queen  of  the  gods  with  her  beautiful  voice: 

119.  “Those  creatures  are  turned  to  clay, 

120.  Since  I  commanded  evil  in  the  assembly  of  the  gods; 

121.  Because  I  commanded  evil  in  the  assembly  of  the  gods, 

122.  For  the  destruction  of  my  people  I  commanded  battle. 

123.  I  alone  bore  my  people; 

124.  Like  spawn  of  fishes  they  fill  the  sea.” 

125.  The  gods  along  with  the  Anunnaki  wept  with  her, 

126.  The  gods  bowed,  sat  as  they  wept; 

127.  Closed  were  their  lips;  [silent  their]  assembly. 

128.  Six  days  and  seven  nights 

129.  Blew  the  wind,  the  deluge  the  flood  overpowered. 

130.  When  the  seventh  day  approached,  the  deluge  was  prolonging  the 

battle 

131.  Which,  like  an  army,  it  had  waged. 

132.  The  sea  calmed,  the  destruction  abated,  the  flood  ceased. 

133.  I  looked  upon  the  sea,  the  roaring  was  stilled 

134.  And  all  mankind  was  turned  to  clay; 

135.  Like  logs  all  were  floating  about. 

136.  I  opened  the  window,  the  light  fell  on  my  cheek; 

137.  I  was  overcome,  I  sat  down,  I  wept; 

138.  Over  my  cheek  streamed  the  tears. 

139.  I  looked  in  all  directions — a  fearful  sea! 

140.  After  twelve  days  an  island  appeared; 

141.  Toward  mount  Nizir  the  ship  stood  off; 

142.  Mount  Nizir  held  it  fast,  that  it  moved  not. 

143.  One  day,  two  days,  mount  Nizir  held  it  that  it  moved  not, 

144.  Three  days,  four  days,  mount  Nizir  held  it  that  it  moved  not, 

145.  Five  days,  six  days,  mount  Nizir  held  it  that  it  moved  not, 

146.  When  the  seventh  day  approached, 

147.  I  brought  out  a  dove  and  let  her  go; 


I 


276  ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 

148.  The  dove  went  out  and  returned; 

149.  There  was  no  resting-place  and  she  came  back. 

150.  I  brought  out  a  swallow  and  let  it  go; 

151.  The  swallow  went  out  and  returned. 

152.  There  was  no  resting-place  and  it  came  back. 

153.  I  brought  out  a  raven  and  let  it  go; 

154.  The  raven  went  out,  the  diminution  of  the  waters  it  saw; 

155.  It  alighted,  it  waded  about,  it  croaked,  it  did  not  come  back. 

156.  I  disembarked  [all];  to  the  four  winds  I  poured  a  libation. 

157.  I  appointed  a  sacrifice  on  the  top  of  the  mountain  peak; 

158.  Seven  by  seven  I  arranged  the  sacrificial  vessels; 

159.  Beneath  them  I  piled  reeds,  cedar  wood,  and  myrtle. 

160.  The  gods  smelled  the  savor, 

161.  The  gods  smelled  the  sweet  savor, 

162.  The  gods  above  the  sacrificer  collected  like  flies. 

163.  When  at  length  the  queen  of  the  gods  drew  near, 

164.  She  raised  the  great  bows  (?)  which  Anu  at  her  wish  had  made. 

165.  “0  ye  gods,  as  I  shall  not  forget  the  jewel  of  my  neck 

166.  These  days  I  shall  not  forget — to  eternity  I  shall  remember! 

167.  Let  the  gods  come  to  the  sacrifice, 

168.  But  let  Ellil  not  come  to  the  sacrifice, 

169.  For  he  was  not  wise;  he  sent  the  deluge, 

170.  And  numbered  my  people  for  destruction.” 

171.  When  at  last  Ellil  drew  near, 

172.  He  saw  the  ship,  Ellil  was  angry, 

173.  His  heart  was  filled  against  the  gods  and  the  Igigi.1 

174.  “Who  then  has  come  out  alive? 

175.  No  man  must  escape  from  destruction.” 

176.  Then  Enmashtu  opened  his  mouth  and  spake, 

177.  He  said  to  the  warrior  Ellil: 

178.  “Who  but  Ea  accomplished  the  thing? 

179.  Even  Ea  knows  every  undertaking.” 

180.  Ea  opened  his  mouth  and  spake, 

181.  He  said  to  the  warrior  Ellil: 

182.  “O  thou,  leader  of  the  gods,  warrior, 

183.  How,  how  couldst  thou  without  thought  send  a  deluge? 

184.  On  the  sinner  let  his  sin  rest, 

185.  On  the  wrongdoer  rest  his  misdeed. 

186.  Forbear,  let  it  not  be  done,  have  mercy,  [that  men  perish  not]. 

187.  Instead  of  thy  sending  a  deluge 

188.  Had  the  lion  come  and  diminished  the  people! 

189.  Instead  of  thy  sending  a  deluge 

190.  Had  a  wolf  come  and  diminished  the  people! 

191.  Instead  of  thy  sending  a  deluge 

192.  Had  a  famine  come  and  the  land  [depopulated!] 

193.  Instead  of  thy  sending  a  deluge 

194.  Had  a  pestilence  come  and  the  land  [depopulated!] 

195.  I  ha.ve  not  divulged  the  decisions  of  the  great  gods. 

196.  I  caused  Adrakhasis  to  see  a  dream  and  the  decisions  of  the  gods  he 

heard. 

197.  Now  take  counsel  concerning  him.” 

198.  Then  went  Ea  on  board  the  ship, 

199.  He  took  my  hand  and  brought  me  forth, 

200.  He  brought  forth  my  wife  and  made  her  kneel  at  my  side; 

1  The  spirits  of  heaven. 


\ 


A  BABYLONIAN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  FLOOD  277 


201.  He  turned  us  toward  each  other  and  stood  between  us;  he  blessed  us: 

202.  “In  former  time  Utnapishtim  was  a  man; 

203.  Now  let  Utnapishtim  and  his  wife  be  like  gods — even  like  us; 

204.  Let  Utnapishtim  dwell  afar  oh  at  the  mouth  of  the  rivers!” 

205.  He  took  me  and  caused  me  to  dwell  afar  off  at  the  mouth  of  the  rivers. 

2.  Comparison  with  Genesis  6-9. 

The  above  account  of  the  deluge  so  closely  resembles  that  in  the 
Bible  (Gen.  6  :9 — 9  : 19),  that  nearly  all  scholars  recognize  that 
they  are  two  versions  of  the  same  narrative.1  In  each  case  there  is 
a  divine  revelation  to  the  hero  of  the  deluge  that  a  catastrophe  is 
coming  of  which  every  one  else  is  ignorant.  They  both  relate  the 
building  of  the  vessel,  the  “pitching  it  within  and  without  with 
pitch,”  the  embarkation,  the  flood  in  which  other  men  are  de¬ 
stroyed,  the  resting  of  the  ship  on  a  mountain,  the  sending  out 
of  the  birds,  the  disembarkation,  the  sacrifice,  and  the  intimation 
that  in  future  a  deluge  shall  not  be. 

When  the  Babylonian  account  is  compared  with  the  Biblical, 
there  are  two  striking  differences.  1 .  The  Babylonian  story  makes 
the  flood  local;  the  Biblical,  general.  2.  The  Babylonian  story, 
fascinating  poetry  though  it  is,  has  a  conception  of  deity  in  strong 
contrast  with  the  dignity  of  the  Biblical  monotheism.  The  Baby¬ 
lonian  gods  disagree;  they  blame  each  other;  they  crouch  with  fear 
like  dogs ;  they  come  swarming  about  the  sacrifice  like  hungry  flies ! 
Nothing  could  more  strikingly  illustrate  the  inspiration  of  the  Bib¬ 
lical  story  than  to  measure  it  against  the  background  of  this  Baby¬ 
lonian  poem,  which  is  clearly  a  variant  version  of  it. 

3.  Another  Babylonian  Version. 

From  the  library  of  Ashurbanipal  there  has  come  another  ver¬ 
sion  of  the  deluge,  which  represents  the  purpose  of  its  coming  as 
different.  According  to  this  version,  men  had  sinned  and  had  been 
afflicted  with  famine,  after  which  they  reformed  for  a  time.  The 
famine  was  removed,  but  soon,  apparently,  they  sinned  again.  Pes¬ 
tilence  was  then  sent  upon  them.  An  appeal  brought  mitigation 
of  their  sufferings,  but  soon  they  plunged  into  sin  again.  This 
time  they  were  punished  with  unfruitfulness  of  the  land  and  of 
their  race,  but  soon  sinned  as  before.  When  all  other  punish¬ 
ments  had  failed,  as  a  last  resort  the  flood  was  sent. 

As  this  account  does  not  so  closely  resemble  that  in  Genesis,  it  is 
not  translated  here.  Those  who  wish  to  read  it  are  referred  to  Rogers, 
Cuneiform  Parallels  to  the  Old  Testament ,  New  York,  1912,  p.  114,  ff. 

1  Or  two  accounts  of  the  same  event. 


CHAPTER  VII 


AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  CREATION  AND  FLOOD,  FROM 

A  TABLET  WRITTEN  AT  NIPPUR  BEFORE  2000  B.  C. 

Translation.  Comparison  with  the  Other  Version. 

1.  Translation. 

This  tablet  was  published  by  Dr.  Arno  Poebel,  of  Breslau.  It 
was  apparently  written  in  the  time  of  the  dynasty  of  Nisin,  but  at 
any  rate  not  later  than  the  period  of  the  first  dynasty  of  Babylon. 
Only  a  part  of  the  tablet  has  been  found,  so  that  the  narrative  is 
incomplete  both  at  the  beginning  and  at  the  end.  Possibly  the 
remaining  portion  may  some  time  be  found  in  the  museum  at  Con¬ 
stantinople.  The  tablet  is  inscribed  on  both  sides,  and  there  are 
three  columns  to  the  side.  The  portions  that  are  still  extant  read 
as  follows:1 


Column  I  {about  three-fourths  of  the  column  missing ) 


“My  human-kind  from  its  destruction  I  will  [raise  up]; 

With  the  aid  of  Nintu  my  creation . .  .1  will  raise  up; 

The  people  in  their  settlements  I  will  establish; 

The  city,  wherever  man  creates  one — indeed  its  protection — therein  I  will 
give  him  rest. 

Our  house — its  brick  may  he  cast  in  a  clean  spot! 

Our  places  in  a  clean  place  may  he  establish!” 

Its  brilliant  splendor,  the  temple  platform,  he  made  straight, 

The  exalted  regulations  he  completed  for  it; 

The  land  he  divided;  a  favorable  plan  he  established. 

After  Anu,  Enlil,2  Enki,3  and  Ninkharsag 
The  black-headed4  race  had  created, 

All  that  is  from  the  earth,  from  the  earth  they  caused  to  spring, 

Cattle  and  beasts  of  the  field  suitably  they  brought  into  being. 

1  Translated  from  A.  Poebel’s  Historical  and  Grammatical  Texts  in  the  University  of  Pennsyl¬ 
vania’s  “University  Museum’s  publications  of  the  Babylonian  Section,”  Vol.  V,  Philadelphia,  1914, 
No.  1. 

2  Often  called  Bel. 

3  Called  Ea,  p.  273. 

4  A  term  by  which  the  Semites  of  Babylonia  designated  themselves.  The  Sumerians  shaved 
their  heads. 

278 


ANOTHER  CREATION  AND  FLOOD  ACCOUNT  279 


Here  the  first  column  ends.  The  passage  opens  in  the  mid?  of 
the  speech  of  some  deity — perhaps  Ninkharsag  (a  Sumerian  name  of 
Ishtar)  or  possibly  Enlil,  the  god  of  Nippur.  First  the  deity  tells 
how  luankind,  which  has  been  overthrown,  shall  be  raised  up  again. 
Then  we  are  told  how  he  perfected  plans  for  the  accomplishment  of 
this  purpose,  and  lastly  how  four  deities  called  into  being  men  and 
animals. 

Column  II  ( about  three- fifths  of  the  text  is  missing ) 


. I  will . 

. I  will  turn  my  eye  upon  him . 

The . creator  of  the  land . 

. of  royalty . 

. of  royalty  by  him  was  determined; 

The  exalted  palace  of  the  royal  throne  was  by  him  set  apart, 

The  exalted  precepts . he  made  perfect, 

In  clean  places . cities . he  founded, 

Their  names  were  named,  they  were  allotted  to  guardian-spirits  (?) 

Of  these  cities  Eridu — the  chief  command  to  Nudimmud  he  gave, 

Unto  the  second  the  Tmug-priests  of  Umma  (?)  he  gave, 

Thirdly,  Larak  to  Pabilkharsag  he  gave, 

Fourthly,  Sippar  as  the  dwelling  of  Shamash  he  gave, 

Fifthly,  Shurippak  unto  Lamkurru  he  gave. 

Their  names  were  assigned;  to  guardian-spirits  (?)  they  were  allotted; 

Its  rampart  (?),  a  wall  (?)  he  raised  up,  he  established; 

Small  rivers,  canals  (?),  and  water-courses  (?)  he  established. 

The  last  part  of  this  column  relates  how  five  cities  were  established 
by  some  deity.  Of  what  the  first  part  treated  we  cannot  make  out 
from  the  few  fragments  of  lines  that  are  still  legible. 

Column  III 


The  land  the  sway  of  Anu 

The  people . 

A  deluge . 


Their  land  (?)  it  entered . 

Then  Nintu  [cried  out]  like  [a  woman  in  travail] . 

The  brilliant  Ishtar  [uttered]  a  groan  on  account  of  her  people. 

Enki  with  himself  held  communion  in  his  wisdom; 

Anu,  Enlil,  Enki,  and  Ninkharsag, 

The  gods  of  heaven  and  earth,  invoked  the  names  of  Anu  and  Enlil, 

At  that  time  Ziugiddu  was  king,  the  priest  of . 

The  chief  deity  he  made  of  wood . 

In  humility  prostrating  himself,  in  reverence .  . 

Daily  at  all  times  was  he  present  in  person . 

Increasing  dreams  which  had  not  come  [before], 

Conjuring  by  the  name  of  heaven  and  earth . 


280 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


In  this  column  the  narrative  has  passed  to  the  story  of  the  deluge. 
The  gods  have  determined  to  send  a  deluge;  Ziugiddu  in  conse¬ 
quence  constructed  an  idol  from  wood  (compare  Isa.  40  :  20),  and 
earnestly  worshiped  it,  seeking  oracles  for  his  guidance. 

Column  IV 

For  the  settlement  (?)  the  gods  a  wall  (?) . 

Ziugiddu  stood  by  its  side,  he  heard . 

“At  the  wall  at  my  left  side  stand . 

At  the  wall  I  will  speak  a  word  to  thee 

O  my  brilliant  one,  let  there  enter  thy  ear . 

By  our  hand  a  deluge . will  be  sent. 

The  seed  of  mankind  to  destroy . 

Is  the  momentous  decision  of  the  assembly  (of  the  gods) ; 

The  words  of  Anu  and  Enlil . 

Their  kingdom,  their  rule . 

To  them . ” 

It  is  clear  from  these  fragmentary  lines  that  Ziugiddu  is  being 
informed  of  the  approaching  deluge.  It  is  also  clear  that  some  of 
the  elements  of  the  narrative  are  identical  with  some  of  the  elements 
of  the  one  discussed  in  Chapter  VI.  Ziugiddu  is  commanded  to 
stand  by  a  wall,  where  some  deity  will  speak  to  him.  This  ap¬ 
pears  in  the  other  version  in  the  form: 

“O  reed-hut,  reed-hut,  O  wall,  wall,1 
O  reed-hut,  hearken;  O  wall,  give  heed! 

O  man  of  Shurippak,  son  of  Ubartutu, 

Pull  down  thy  house,  build  a  ship,  etc. 

In  that  account,  too,  the  assembly  of  the  gods  is  also  referred  to  in 
line  120,  ff.  These  are  examples  of  the  way  the  same  theme,  differ¬ 
ently  treated,  turns  up  in  different  forms. 

Column  V 

The  evil  winds,  the  wind  that  is  hostile,  came;  all  of  them  descended, 

The  deluge . came  on  with  them 

Seven  days  and  seven  nights 
The  deluge  swept  over  the  land, 

The  evil  wind  made  the  huge  boat  tremble. 

Shamash2  came  forth,  on  heaven  and  earth  he  shone; 

Ziugiddu  the  ship  at  the  top  uncovered, 

The  peace  of  Shamash,  his  light,  entered  into  the  boat. 

Ziugiddu,  the  king 

Before  Shamash  bowed  his  face  to  the  earth. 

The  king — an  ox  he  sacrificed,  a  sheep  offered  as  oblation. 


1  See  Part  II,  Chapter  VI,  line  21,  ff. 


2 1.  e.,  the  sun. 


ANOTHER  CREATION  AND  FLOOD  ACCOUNT  281 


In  this  column  we  have  a  fragment  which  relates  some  details 
similar  to  those  told  in  lines  128,  129,  and  136-138  of  the  account 
given  in  Chapter  VI. 

Column  VI 

By  the  life  of  heaven  and  the  life  of  earth  ye  shall  conjure  him, 

That  he  may  raise  up  from  you; 

Anu  and  Enlil  by  the  soul  of  heaven  and  the  soul  of  earth  ye  shall  conjure, 
That  they  may  raise  up  from  you 

The  curse  that  has  come  upon  the  land,  that  they  may  remove  it. 

Ziugiddu  the  king 

Before  Anu  and  Enlil  bowed  his  face  to  the  earth. 

Life  like  a  god’s  he  gave  to  him, 

An  immortal  spirit  like  a  god’s  he  brought  to  him. 

Then  Ziugiddu  the  king, 

Of  the  seed  that  was  cursed,  lord  of  mankind  he  made; 

In  the  fruitful  land,  the  land  of  Dilmun . they  made  him  dwell 


At  this  point  the  last  column  is  hopelessly  broken.  It  is  clear, 
however,  from  the  part  which  remains  that  Ziugiddu  is  in  this 
narrative  translated  to  the  Isle  of  the  Blest  as  was  Utnapishtim 
in  the  account  translated  in  Chapter  VI,  lines  202-205. 1  Indeed 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  two  accounts  of  the  flood  are 
divergent  versions  of  the  same  story.  In  addition  to  the  likenesses 
already  mentioned,  the  names  of  the  two  heroes,  though  they 
appear  so  different,  are  the  same  in  meaning.  Utnapishtim  (or 
Unapishtim)  means  “day  of  life,”  or  “day-life,”  while  Ziugiddu 
means  “Life-day  prolonged.” 

2.  Comparison  with  the  Other  Version. 

Although  this  tablet  is  much  broken,  so  that  we  have  not  the  whole 
of  the  story,  it  is  clear  from  the  parts  that  we  have  that  in  this  version 
preserved  at  Nippur  the  story  was  much  shorter  than  in  the  form 
translated  in’ Chapter  VI,  which  was  preserved  in  the  library  of  Ashur- 
banipal.  It  was  also  combined  with  a  briefer  account  of  the  crea¬ 
tion  than  that  translated  in  Chapter  I  from  Ashurbanipal’s  library. 

Of  this  Nippurian  version  of  the  creation  story  we  have  in  this 
tablet  only  the  small  fragments  preserved  in  Columns  I  and  II.  It 
is,  however,  probable  that  the  Nippurian  version  of  the  creation 
was  in  its  main  features  similar  to  that  preserved  in  the  library  at 
Nineveh,  only  more  brief. 

If  this  be  so,  the  conquest  of  the  dragon  Tiamat  is  here  attributed 
to  Enlil  of  Nippur,  as  in  the  other  version  it  is  attributed  to  Marduk 
of  Babylon,  and  as  in  Psa.  74  :  13,  14,  it  is  attributed  to  Jehovah. 

1  See  p.277. 


282 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


This  older  account  from  Nippur  agrees  in  one  respect  more  nearly 
with  the  Biblical  account  than  the  one  from  the  library  at  Nineveh 
does,  for  it  represents  Ziugiddu  as  a  very  pious  man,  who  was  ap¬ 
parently  saved  from  destruction  on  account  of  his  piety,  and  in 
blessing  him  God  removed  the  curse  as  Jehovah  did  in  Gen.  8  :  21. 


CHAPTER 


VIII 


AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ORIGIN  OF  A  CITY  AND  THE 
BEGINNING  OF  AGRICULTURE,  FROM  A  TABLET 
WRITTEN  AT  NIPPUR  BEFORE  2000  B.  C. 

Translation.  Comparison  with  Biblical  Material. 

This  tablet  begins  with  a  description  of  a  place  the  name  of 
which  is  not  with  certainty  identified.  Possibly  it  was  Eridu,  but 
probably  Dilmun. 

I.  Translation. 

Column  I1 

1.  Holy  is  [the  place]  where  you  are; 

2.  The  mountain  Dilmun  is  holy. 

3.  Holy  is  the  place  where  you  are; 

4 . the  mountain  Dilmun  is  holy. 

5.  The  mountain  Dilmun  is  holy,  the  mountain  Dilmun  is  pure, 

6.  The  mountain  Dilmun  is  pure,  the  mountain  Dilmun  is  brilliant. 

7.  Alone  in  Dilmun  they  lay  down; 

8.  Where  Enki  and  his  consort  lay, 

9.  That  place  is  pure;  that  place  is  brilliant. 

10.  Alone  in  Dilmun  they  [lay]; 

II.  Where  Enki  and  Ninella  lay, 

12.  That  place  is  pure,  that  place  is  brilliant. 

13.  In  Dilmun  the  raven  cried  not, 

14.  The  Jar-bird  its  Jar-cry  uttered  not. 

15.  The  deadly  lion  destroyed  not, 

16.  The  wolf  a  lamb  seized  not, 

17.  The  dog  the  weak  kid  tore  not, 

18.  The  J?m2-animal  the  food-grain  destroyed  not, 

19.  She  planned  not  for  young  offspring.  .  . 

20.  The  birds  of  heaven  their  offspring  hatched  not, 

21.  Doves  laid  not  eggs  (?) 

22.  Of  eye-disease,  “it  is  eye-disease,”  one  said  not; 

23.  Of  headache,  “it  is  headache,”  one  said  not. 

24.  To  a  mother,  “mother,”  one  said  not, 

25.  To  a  father,  “father,”  one  said  not. 

26.  In  the  holy  place  a  libation  was  poured  not;  in  the  city  one  drank  not; 

27.  The  river-man  “cross  it?”  said  not; 

28.  The  overseer  filled  no  right  hand; 

1  Translated  from  Langdon,  The  Sumerian  Epic  of  Paradise,  the  Flood,  and  the  Fall  of  Man 
Philadelphia,  1915,  Plates  I  and  II.  Langdon,  as  his  title  shows,  regards  the  text  as  a  descrip¬ 
tion  of  Paradise,  the  flood,  and  the  fall  of  man, — a  view  that  the  present  writer  cannot  share. 

2  The  sign  for  dun  was  the  picture  of  a  pig.  The  animal  in  question  was,  therefore,  probably  a 

sow. 


283 


284 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


29.  The  musician  “sing,”  said  not; 

30.  The  prince  of  the  city  spoke  not. 

31.  Ninella  to  her  father  Enki  said: 

32.  “A  city  thou  hast  founded,  a  city  thou  hast  founded,  its  destiny  thou 

hast  fixed; 

33.  In  Dilmun  a  city  thou  hast  founded, 


34  . thou  hast  founded  a  city, 

35  . a  canal  there  is  not 

36  . thou  hast  founded  a  city.” 


The  rest  of  the  first  column  is  broken  away;  probably  about  nine 
lines  are  missing. 

All  the  first  column  is  descriptive  of  a  place  inhabited  only  by 
a  god  and  goddess.  Many  activities  are  absent,  because  there  is 
no  one  there  to  carry  them  on.  Lines  16-21  remind  one  a  little 
of  Isa.  1 1  :  6-9. 

After  the  break  the  text  continues: 

Column  II 

1.  “From  the  bright  covering  of  thy  great  heaven  may  the  waters  flow, 

2.  May  thy  city  be  refreshed  with  water,  may  it  drink, 

3.  May  Dilmun  be  refreshed  with  water,  may  it  drink, 

4.  May  the  deep  of  bitter  water  flow  as  a  deep  of  sweet  water. 

5.  May  thy  city  be  a  resting,  an  abode  of  the  people, 

6.  May  Dilmun  be  a  resting,  an  abode  of  the  people. 

7.  Now,  O  sun-god,  shine  forth, 

8.  O  sun-god,  stand  in  heaven; 

9.  Bring  open  water  from  the  womb  of  the  land! 

10.  [And]  fish,  O  moon-god,  from  the  water. 

11.  In  the  water-course  on  the  face  of  the  land,  O  earth’s  sweet  water  come! 

12.  That  from  the  bright  covering  of  the  great  heavens  water  may  flow, 

13.  Its  city  be  refreshed,  may  drink, 

14.  Dilmun  be  refreshed,  may  drink, 

15.  The  deep  of  bitter  water  flow  as  a  deep  of  sweet  water, 

16.  The  fields  and  meadows . 

17.  The  city  be  a  house  for  the  multitudes  of  the  land, 

18.  Dilmun  be  a  house  for  the  multitudes  of  the  land. 

19.  To  shine  may  the  sun-god  come  forth — let  it  be  so. 

20.  He  who  alone  is  wise  ( i .  e.  Enki) 

21.  To  Nintu,  mother  of  the  land . 

(Lines  22-30  describe  with  a  frankness  common  among  primitive  people  a 
marital  union  of  the  god  and  goddess.  In  many  parts  of  the  world  it 
has  been  thought  that  acts  of  creation  proceed  from  such  unions.) 

31.  Enki,  the  father  of  Damgalnunna,  his  word  spoke. 

32.  Ninkharsag  flooded  the  fields, 

33.  The  fields  received  the  waters  of  Enki. 

34.  It  was  the  first  day  whose  month  is  first; 

35.  It  was  the  second  day  whose  month  is  second; 

36.  It  was  the  third  day  whose  month  is  third; 

37.  It  was  the  fourth  day  whose  month  is  fourth; 


BEGINNING  OF  AGRICULTURE 


285 


38.  It  was  the  fifth  day  whose  month  is  fifth; 

39.  It  was  the  sixth  day  whose  month  is  sixth; 

40.  It  was  the  seventh  day  whose  month  is  seventh; 

41.  It  was  the  eighth  day  [whose  month  is  eighth]; 

42.  It  was  the  ninth  day  whose  month  is  ninth,  the  month  of  outpouring  of 

of  the  water. 

43.  Like  fat,  like  fat,  like  abundant  sweet  oil, 

44.  [Nintu],  mother  of  the  land, 

45 . had  brought  them  forth. 

In  the  first  part  of  the  above  column  the  description  of  the  city 
is  continued.  As  a  consequence  of  the  union  of  the  gods,  water 
flowed  to  irrigate  the  land.  Lines  34-42  tell  in  a  quaint  way  how 
the  waters  continued  to  come  for  nine  months  and  nine  days. 

Column  III 

1.  Ninshar  on  the  bank  of  the  river  cried  (?) : 

2.  “0  Enki,  for  me  are  they  filled!  they  are  filled!” 

3.  His  messenger,  Usmu,  he  called: 

4.  “Man,  their  favorite  son,  has  not  been  purified, 

5.  Ninshar,  their  favorite  has  not  purified.” 

6.  His  messenger,  Usmu,  answered: 

7.  “Man,  their  favorite  son,  has  not  been  purified, 

8.  Ninshar  the  favorite  has  not  purified.” 

9.  My  king,  the  storm-bringer,  the  storm-bringer, 

10.  His  way  at  once  to  the  boat  went. 

11.  Two  streams  (?),  like  Shamash,  he  carried. 

12.  He  closed  the  hatch.  With  fire  he  made  purification. 

13.  Enki  flooded  the  fields; 

14.  The  fields  received  the  waters  of  Enki. 

15.  It  was  the  first  day  whose  month  is  first; 

16.  It  was  the  second  day  whose  month  is  second; 

17.  It  was  the  ninth  day  whose  month  is  ninth,  the  month  of  the  outpouring 

of  waters. 

18.  Like  fat,  like  fat,  like  abundant  sweet  oil, 

19.  [Ninshar]  like  fat, 

20.  Ninshar  had  brought  them  forth. 

21.  Ninkurra1  [on  the  bank  of  the  river]  c[ried  (?)] 

22.  “O  Enki,  for  me  they  are  filled!  they  are  filled!” 

23.  His  messenger,  Usmu,  he  called: 

24.  “Man,  their  favorite  son,  has  not  been  purified; 

25.  Ninkurra  the  favorite  has  not  purified.” 

26.  His  messenger,  Usmu,  answered: 

27.  “Man,  their  favorite  son,  has  not  been  purified; 

28.  Ninkurra,  the  favorite,  has  not  purified.” 

29.  My  king,  the  storm-bringer,  the  storm-bringer, 

30.  His  way  at  once  to  the  boat  went. 

31.  Two  streams  (?),  like  Shamash,  he  carried. 

32.  He  closed  the  hatch.  With  fire  he  made  purification. 

33.  Enki  flooded  the  fields 

34.  The  fields  received  the  waters  of  Enki. 


1  Apparantly  another  name  of  Ninshar. 


286 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


35.  It  was  the  first  day  whose  month  is  first; 

36.  It  was  the  ninth  day  whose  month  is  ninth,  the  month  of  the  outpouring  of 

waters. 

37.  Like  fat,  like  fat,  like  abundant  sweet  oil, 

38.  Ninkurra  like  fat  had  brought  them  forth. 

39.  The  god  Takku  to  receive  his  outpouring . 

40.  Ninkurra  to  Takku  [concerning  the  outpouring]  spoke: 

41.  “I  will  irrigate  thee  with  my  irrigation . 

42.  With  favorable  words  will  I  speak . 

43.  The  one  alone  that  will  restrain  it . 

44.  Enki  for  me  shall . 

/ 

The  rest  of  the  column  consisting  of  two  or  three  lines,  is  missing. 
The  repetition  in  this  column  is  characteristic  of  early  poetry. 
Primitive  peoples  are  fond  of  iteration,  and  in  the  description  of  the 
way  the  waters  came  it  was  to  them  very  effective. 

Column  IV  ( about  twelve  lines  are  broken  from  the  tablet  at  the  beginning) 
13.  [To  Takku  to  receive  the  outpouring] . 


14  . 

15  . 

16  . in  the  garden . 

17  . 

18.  The . tree  (?)  let  him  plant, 

19.  The . tree  (?)  let  him  plant, 


20.  At  the  explanation  of  the  great  outpouring  let  my  begotten  stand  (?). 

21.  Let  the  two  gu-ba  be  filled  with  water, 

22.  Abundant  water  let  him  pour  out, 

23.  Reservoir  wTater  let  him  pour  out, 

24.  The  barren  land  let  him  irrigate, 

25.  As  gardener . let  him  go  forth  (?), 

26.  On  the  bank,  along  the  bank,  let . 

27.  Who  art  thou?  The  garden . 

28.  For  Enki,  the  gardener . 

(Six  lines  are  here  broken  away.) 


35.  The . tree  (?)  he  planted, 

36.  The . tree  (?)  he  planted;  at  its  base  he  rested. 


37.  Enki  turned  his  eyes  to  him;  his  sceptre  he  lifted  up; 

38.  Enki  to  Takku  took  his  way. 

39.  At  the  tree  he  said:  “A  holy  revelation,  a  holy  revelation!” 

40.  “Who  is  it  that  thou  art?” 

41.  “I  am  a  gardener;  joyful . 

42.  For  a  price  I  will  give  thee.” 

43.  Takku  with  joyful  heart  at  the  tree  (?)  the  revelation  beheld, 

44.  Enki  to  Takku  explained  his  outpouring. 

45.  The  promised  fruit  was  given  to  him, 


46.  At  the . tree  (?)  it  was  given  to  him, 

47.  At  the . tree  (?)  it  was  given  to  him, 


48.  Takku  received  the  outpouring;  with  the  left  hand  he  grasped  it;  with  the 
right  he  seized  it. 


BEGINNING  OF  AGRICULTURE 


287 


From  the  parts  of  column  IV  which  are  still  legible,  it  appears 
that  the  messenger  was  revealing  to  Takku  the  secrets  of  agri¬ 
culture.  This  corresponds  to  the  statement  in  Gen.  9  :  20,  that 
“Noah  began  to  be  a  husbandman.” 

At  the  beginning  of  Column  V  some  seven  lines  have  crumbled 
away,  and  the  beginnings  of  eight  more  have  also  become  illegible. 


Column  V 


7.  [The  wood-plant  grew,] 

8.  [The  salt-plant]  grew, 

9.  [The . plant]  grew, 

10.  [The  a-pa-shar- plant]  grew, 

11.  [The  tu-tu- plant]  grew, 

12.  [The . plant]  grew, 

13.  [The . plant]  grew, 

14.  [The  cassia]  plant  grew. 

15.  “0  Enki,  for  me  they  are  brought  forth,  they  are  brought  forth.” 

16.  To  his  messenger,  Usmu,  he  spoke,  he  said: 

17.  “The  plants— their  fate  forever  [I  have  determined.”] 

18.  What  is  this?  What  is  this?” 

19.  His  messenger,  Usmu,  returned: 

20 . 

21.  “My  king  has  commanded  the  wood-plant, 

22.  That  it  may  be  cut  off  and  eaten. 

23.  My  king  has  commanded  the  salt-plant, 

24.  That  it  may  be  cut  off  and  eaten. 

25.  My  king  has  commanded  the . plant, 

26.  That  it  may  be  cut  off  [and  eaten]. 

27.  My  king  has  commanded  the  a-pa-shar- plant, 

28.  That  it  may  be  cut  off  and  eaten. 

29.  [My  king]  has  commanded  the  tu-tu- plant, 


30.  [That  it  may  be  cut  off]  and  eaten. 

31.  [My  king  has  commanded  the . plant,] 

32.  [That  it  may  be  cut  off  and  eaten,] 

33.  [My  king  has  commanded  the . plant,] 

34.  That  it  may  be  cut  off  and  eaten. 


35.  [My  king]  has  commanded  the  cassia  plant, 

36.  That  it  may  be  cut  off  and  eaten.” 

37.  By  Ninkharsag  in  the  name  of  Enki  a  curse  was  uttered: 

38.  “The  face  of  life,  when  he  dies,  he  shall  never  see  [again].” 

39.  The  spirits  of  the  earth  in  the  dust  sat  down. 

40.  The  rebellious  one  to  Enki  said: 

41.  “I,  Ninkharsag,  brought  forth  for  thee  people;  what  is  my  reward?” 

42.  Enlil,  the  begetter,  answered  the  rebellious  one: 

43.  “Thou,  Ninkharsag,  hast  brought  forth  people; 

44.  In  my  city  I  will  make  two  thrones  (?)  and  thy  name  shall  be  called  on 

there. 

45.  As  a  dignitary  his  head  alone  is  exalted; 

46.  His  heart  alone  is  changed; 

47.  His  eye  alone  i§  endowed  with  light.” 


288 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


The  last  three  lines  here  refer  to  Takku,  who  would  seem  to  be 
in  some  way  a  representative  of  humanity.  Ninkharsag,  jealous 
of  him,  has  denied  immortality  to  man.  Enlil  explains  to  her  that 
she  need  not  be  jealous  of  her  offspring  as  a  whole;  that  none  but 
Takku  will  be  granted  immortality.  There  is  no  reference,  as 
Langdon  once  supposed,  to  the  fall  of  man. 

Column  VI  {perhaps  five  lines  are  broken  away ) 


6  . the  lord  Enlil . 

7  . the  lord  of  life . 

8.  To . they  went . 

9.  To . they  went,  the  lord  of  the  gods 


10.  Spoke  to  him,  the  water  of  life . 

11 . 

12.  Ninkharsag . 

13  . 

14  . 

15  . 

16  . 

17.  . . 

18.  Ninkharsag . 

19.  Enlil . his . they  founded, 

20.  Priests  (?)  they  ordained, 

21.  Fate  they  determined, 

22.  With  power  established  it. 

23.  Ninkharsag  in  her  temple  granted  his  life  to  him: 

24.  “My  brother,  what  of  thee  is  ill?” 

25.  “My  stable-cow  is  ill.” 

26.  “The  god  Absham  have  I  brought  forth  for  thee.” 

27.  “My  brother,  what  of  thee  is  ill?” 

28.  “My  flock  is  ill.” 

29.  “The  goddess  ‘Queen  of  the  herd’1  have  I  brought  forth  for  thee.” 

30.  “My  brother,  what  of  thee  is  ill?”  “My  face  is  ill.” 

31.  “The  goddess  Ninkautu  have  I  brought  forth  for  thee.” 

32.  “My  brother,  what  of  thee  is  ill?”  “My  mouth  is  ill.” 

33.  “The  goddess  ‘Queen  who  fills  the  mouth’2  have  I  brought  forth  for  thee.” 

34.  “My  brother,  what  of  thee  is  ill?”  [“My  genitals  are  ill”]. 

35.  “The  goddess  Nazi  have  I  brought  forth  for  thee.” 

36.  “My  brother,  what  of  thee  is  ill?”  “My  hand  [is  ill.”] 

37.  “My  goddess  ‘Living  hand’3  have  I  brought  forth  for  thee.” 

38.  “My  brother,  what  of  thee  is  ill?”  “My  health  is  ill.” 

39.  “The  goddess  ‘Queen  of  health’4  have  I  brought  forth  for  thee.” 

40.  “My  brother,  what  of  thee  is  ill?”  “My  intelligence  is  ill.” 

41.  “The  god  who  makes  the  intelligence  clear5  have  I  brought  forth  for  thee.” 

42.  “Grandly  are  they  brought  forth,  they  are  created. 

43.  Let  Absham  be  lord  of  vegetation, 

44.  Let  Nintulla  be  lord  of  Magan, 

1  In  Sumerian  the  goddess  Nintulla. 

2  In  Sumerian  the  goddess  Ninkasi. 

3  In  Sumerian  the  goddess  Dazima. 

4  In  Sumerian,  Nintil. 

6  In  Sumerian,  Enshagme. 


BEGINNING  OF  AGRICULTURE 


289 


45.  Let  Ninkautu  choose  Ninazu  as  a  spouse, 

46.  May  Ninkasi  be  the  full  heart’s  possession, 

47.  May  Nazi  become  mistress  of  weaving  (?), 

48.  May  Dazima  the  house  of  strong  life  take, 

49.  May  Nintil  become  mistress  of  the  month, 

50.  May  Enshagme  become  lord  of  X. 

51.  Glory!” 

2.  Comparison  with  the  Bible. 

Here  the  tablet  concludes.  This  last  column,  which  tells  how 
the  goddess  Ninkharsag  came  to  favor  the  hero  and  to  create  a 
number  of  divine  helpers  for  him,  has  no  parallel  in  the  Biblical 
account.  As  Takku  received  the  especial  protection  of  Ninkharsag 
who  created  him  for  all  these  divine  helpers,  it  seems  certain  that 
this  tablet  had  no  reference  to  the  fall  of  man,  as  Langdon  supposed. 
It  appears  rather  to  be  a  mythical  account  of  the  beginnings  of 
agriculture  and  the  medicinal  use  of  plants  in  Babylonia.  Ag¬ 
riculture  implies  irrigation.  “From  the  first  day  whose  month 
is  first”  to  the  ninth  month,  is  the  period  when  Babylonia  is 
watered.  The  Tigris  begins  to  rise  in  March,  the  first  month, 
the  overflow  of  the  Euphrates  does  not  subside  till  the  sixth 
month,  and  the  winter  rains  are  at  their  height  in  the  ninth 
month. 

As  Adam  was  driven  from  Eden  to  eat  of  the  fruits  of  the 
earth  (Gen.  3  :  18,  24;  compare  Gen.  1  :  29),  and  Noah  became  a 
husbandman  (Gen.  9  :  20),  the  story  of  Takku  presents  a  remote 
similarity  to  both  of  them.  Langdon1  compares  the  list  of  divine 
beings  with  which  the  tablet  ends  with  the  antediluvian  patriarchs 
of  Gen.  4  and  5,  and  suggests  the  possibility  that  here  we  have  the 
original  names  of  those  patriarchs.  Beyond  the  fact  that  Absham 
somewhat  resembles  the  name  Abel  and  was,  like  Abel,  an  agricul¬ 
turist,  there  is  no  apparent  connection.  The  names  in  no  way 
correspond.  It  is  more  probable  that  we  have  the  names  of  those 
patriarchs  in  the  list  of  kings  translated  in  Chapter  V. 


1  See  his  Sumerian  Epic  of  Paradise,  the  Flood,  and  the  Fall  of  Man,  p.  56. 


CHAPTER  IX 


ABRAHAM  AND  ARCHEOLOGY 

Abraham  Hired  an  Ox.  Abraham  Leased  a  Farm.  Abraham  Paid  His  Rent. 
Who  Was  This  Abraham?  Travel  between  Babylonia  and  Palestine.  Hammu- 
rapi,  King  of  the  Westland.  Kudur-Mabug.  Kings  Supposed  by  Some  to  be 
those  of  Genesis  14. 

Archaeological  investigation  has  brought  to  light  a  number  of 
texts  believed  by  scholars  to  illumine  the  Biblical  accounts  of  Abra¬ 
ham.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  to  translate  and  discuss 
these. 

The  documents  which  naturally  attract  us  first  are  some  con¬ 
tracts  from  Babylonia  in  which  an  Abraham  was  one  of  the  con¬ 
tracting  parties.  They  are  as  follows: 

I.  Abraham  Hired  an  Ox.1 

1.  One  ox  broken  to  the  yoke, 

2.  an  ox  from  Ibni-Sin,  son  of  Sin-imgurani, 

3.  from  Ibni-Sin 

4.  through  the  agency  of  Kishti-Nabium, 

5.  son  of  Eteru, 

6.  Abarama,  son  of  Awel-Ishtar, 

7.  for  one  month  has  hired. 

8.  For  one  month 

9.  one  shekel  of  silver 

10.  he  will  pay. 

II.  Of  it  ^  shekel  of  silver 

12.  from  the  hand  of 

13.  Abarama 

14.  Kishti-Nabium 

15.  has  received. 

16.  In  the  presence  of  Idin-Urash,  son  of  Idin-Labibaal, 

17.  in  the  presence  of  Awele,  son  of  Urri-bani, 

18.  in  the  presence  of  Beliyatum,  scribe. 

19.  Month  of  the  mission  of  Ishtar  ( i .  e.,  Ulul),  day  20th, 

20.  The  year  Ammizadugga,  the  king  (built) 

21.  the  wall  of  Ammizadugga,  (i.  e.}  Ammizadugga’s  11th  year). 

22.  Tablet  of  Kishti-Nabium. 

This  tablet  shows  how  Abarama  (Abraham) ,  a  farmer,  hired  an 
ox  for  a  month.  The  tablet,  as  the  last  line  shows,  is  the  copy  made 

1  Translated  from  Vorderasiatische  Schriftdenkmaler  der  k'dniglichen  Museen  zu  Berlin,  VII, 
No.  92. 


290 


ABRAHAM  AND  ARCHEOLOGY 


291 


for  Kishti-Nabium,  the  agent.  In  such  business  transactions  three 
copies  were  often  made,  one  for  each  of  the  contracting  parties  and 
one  for  the  scribe.  The  date  of  this  tablet  is  1965  b.  c.  Ammiza- 
dugga  was  the  tenth  king  of  that  first  dynasty  of  Babylon,  of  which 
Hammurapi  was  the  sixth. 

2.  Abraham  Leased  a  Farm.1 

1.  To  the  patrician 

2.  speak, 

3.  saying,  Gimil-Marduk  (wishes  that) 

4.  Shamash  and  Marduk  may  give  thee  health! 

5.  Mayest  thou  have  peace,  mayest  thou  have  health! 

6.  May  the  god  who  protects  thee  thy  head  in  luck 

7.  hold! 

8.  (To  enquire)  concerning  thy  health  I  am  sending. 

9.  May  thy  welfare  before  Shamash  and  Marduk 

10.  be  eternal! 

11.  Concerning  the  400  shars  of  land,  the  field  of  Sin-idinam, 

12.  which  to  Abamrama 

13.  to  lease,  thou  hast  sent; 

14.  the  land-steward  (?)  and  scribe 

15.  appeared  and 

16.  on  behalf  of  Sin-idinam 

17.  I  took  that  up. 

18.  The  400  shars  of  land  to  Abamrama 

19.  as  thou  hast  directed 

20.  I  have  leased. 

21.  Concerning  thy  dispatches  I  shall  not  be  negligent. 

It  appears  from  this  document  that  Abamrama,  who  is  none  other 
than  a  Babylonian  Abraham,  was  a  small  farmer,  who  leased  a  small 
tract  of  land. 

3.  Abraham  Paid  His  Rent.2 

1.  1  shekel  of  silver 

2.  of  the  rent  (?)  of  his  field, 

3.  for  the  year  Ammizadugga,  the  king, 

4.  a  lordly,  splendid  statue  (set  up), 

5.  brought 

6.  Abamrama, 

7.  received 

8.  Sin-idinam 

9.  and  Iddatum. 

10.  Month  Siman,  28th  day, 

11.  The  year  Ammizadugga,  the  king, 

12.  a  lordly,  splendid  statue  (set  up). 

(This  was  Ammizadugga’s  13th  year.) 

1  Vorderasialische  Schriftdenkmaler  der  koniglicken  Museen  zu  Berlin,  VII,  No.  198. 

*  Ibid.,  VII,  No.  97. 


292 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


This  document,  dated  two  years  after  that  in  which  the  ox  was 
hired,  shows  how  Abamrama  (Abraham)  paid  a  part  of  his  rent. 

The  name  Abamrama  (Abraham)  occurs  in  two  other  documents 
published  in  the  same  volume  (no.  101,  and  no.  102),  where,  in 
defining  the  boundaries  of  other  fields  of  Sin-idinam,  they  are  said 
to  be  bounded  on  one  side  by  the  field  of  Abamrama.  As  these 
documents  mention  the  name  of  Abamrama  only  incidentally,  they 
are  not  translated  here. 

4.  Who  Was  This  Abraham? 

These  documents,  which  relate  to  the  business  of  a  Babylonian 
Abraham,  come  from  Dilbat,  about  eight  miles  south  of  Borsippa, 
which  was  just  across  the  Euphrates  from  Babylon.  It  is  clear 
that  this  Abraham  was  a  small  farmer,  who  hired  a  tract  of  land 
from  a  larger  land-owner.  He  also  hired  an  ox  wherewith  to  work 
his  land,  and  paid  the  rent  of  the  land  and  the  hire  of  the  ox  as  a 
good  citizen  should.  This  Abraham  was  not  the  Biblical  patriarch. 
The  patriarch’s  father  was  Terah  and  his  brother  Nahor;  the  father 
of  this  Babylonian  Abraham  was  Awel-Ishtar,  and  his  brother  Idda- 
tum  (ibid.,  no.  101,  9) .  The  Abraham  of  the  Bible  was  a  monotheist 
according  to  Genesis;  the  ancestors  of  the  Babylonian  Abraham 
worshiped  the  goddess  Ishtar,  who  corresponded  to  the  Canaanitish 
Ash  tore  th.  The  Bible  connects  the  patriarch  with  Ur  and  Haran; 
this  Abraham  lived  about  half-way  between  these  two  cities. 

Up  to  the  present  time  this  Babylonian  Abraham  is  the  only  per¬ 
son  known  to  us  other  than  the  Biblical  patriarch,  who,  in  that  pe¬ 
riod  of  history,  bore  the  name.  He  is  the  only  one  known  to  us  out¬ 
side  the  Biblical  record.1  The  only  other  occurrence  of  the  name 
outside  the  Bible  is  in  the  name  of  a  place  in  Palestine,  probably 
near  Hebron,  which  Sheshonk  I,  the  Biblical  Shishak,  calls  “The 
Field  of  Abram.”2  As  Shishak  lived  much  later  (945-924  b.  c.), 
being  a  contemporary  of  Rehoboam  the  son  of  Solomon,  this 
Egyptian  place  name  is  not  so  significant.  The  Babylonian  Abra¬ 
ham  mentioned  in  the  documents  just  translated  is  welcome  proof 
that  Abraham  was  a  personal  name  in  Babylonia  near  the  time  in 
which  the  Bible  places  the  patriarch.  With  these  documents  Gen. 
11  :  27 — 25  :  10  should  be  compared. 

Another  Babylonian  contract  is  of  interest  in  connection  with  the 
migration  of  Abraham. 

1  Since  this  manuscript  was  sent  to  the  printer,  another  Abraham  has  been  found  in  some 
tablets  in  the  Yale  University  Collection. 

2  Breasted,  Ancient  Records,  Egypt,  IV,  pp.  352,  353.  (See  p.  360.) 


ABRAHAM  AND  ARCHAEOLOGY 


293 


5.  Travel  between  Babylonia  and  Palestine. 

1.  A  wagon1 

2.  from  Mannum-balum-Shamash, 

3.  son  of  Shelibia, 

4.  Khabilkinum, 

5.  son  of  Appani[bi], 

6.  on  a  lease 

7.  for  1  year 

8.  has  hired. 

9.  As  a  yearly  rental 

10.  |  of  a  shekel  of  silver 

11.  he  will  pay. 

12.  As  the  first  of  the  rent 

13.  I  of  a  shekel  of  silver 

14.  he  has  received. 

15.  Unto  the  land  of  Kittim 

16.  he  shall  not  drive  it. 

17.  In  the  presence  of  Ibku-Adad, 

18.  son  of  Abiatum; 

19.  in  the  presence  of  Uukasha, 

20.  son  of  Arad-ilishu; 

21.  in  the  presence  of  Ilishii . 

22.  Month  Ululu,  day  25, 

23.  the  year  the  king  Erech  from  the  flood 

24.  of  the  river  as  a  friend  protected. 

The  date  of  the  above  interesting  document  has  not  been  identi¬ 
fied  with  certainty.  It  is  thought  by  some  to  belong  to  the  reign  of 
Shamsu-iluna,  the  successor  of  Hammurapi.  The  writing  clearly 
shows  that  at  any  rate  it  comes  from  the  period  of  this  dynasty. 
That  is,  it  comes  from  the  period  to  which  Gen.  14  assigns  the 
migration  of  Abraham.  Kittim  in  the  contract  is  the  word  used  in 
the  Hebrew  of  Jer.  2  :  10  and  Ezek.  27  :  6  for  the  coast  lands  of  the 
Mediterranean.  It  undoubtedly  has  that  meaning  here.  This 
contract  was  written  in  Sippar,  the  Agade  of  earlier  times,  a  town 
on  the  Euphrates  a  little  to  the  north  of  Babylon.  It  reveals  the 
fact  that  at  the  time  the  document  was  written  there  was  so  much 
travel  between  Babylonia  and  the  Mediterranean  coast  that  a  man 
could  not  lease  a  wagon  for  a  year  without  danger  that  it  might  be 
driven  over  the  long  route  to  Syria  or  Palestine.  Against  such  wear 
upon  his  vehicle  the  particular  wagon-owner  of  our  document  pro¬ 
tected  himself. 

When,  therefore,  Abraham  went  out  from  his  land  and  his  kindred, 
he  was  going  to  no  unknown  land.  The  tide  of  commerce  and  of 
emigration  had  opened  the  way.  Apparently  it  was  no  more  re- 

1  See  Beitrage  zur  Assyriologie,  V,  p.  498,  no.  23;  cf.  p.  429,  ff. 


294 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


markable  for  him  to  do  it  than  for  an  Irishman  to  come  to  America 
half  a  century  ago,  or  for  a  south  European  to  come  today. 

6.  Hammurapi,  King  of  the  Westland. 

It  is  thought  by  many  scholars  that  Hammurapi  was  the 
Amraphel  of  Genesis  14.  The  following  inscription1  relates  to  this 
king: 

1.  To  [Shar]ratum, 

2.  the  bride  of  Anu 

3.  who  has  come  to  lordship, 

4.  lady  of  strength  and  abundance, 

5.  of  the  mountain-temple, 

6.  faithful  lady,  of  exalted  counsel, 

7.  lady  who  binds  the  heart, 

8.  who  for  her  spouse 

9.  makes  favorable  her  open  oracle; 

10.  to  his  lady, 

11.  for  the  life  of  Hammurapi, 

12.  king  of  the  Westland  (MAR-TU), 

13.  Ibirum . 

14.  governor  of  the  river- [district] . 

15.  son  of  Shuban . . 

16.  a  guardian-deity  appropriate  to  her  divinity, 

17.  in  the  land  which  she  loves, 

18.  for  her  service  (?) 

19.  before  her  beloved  temple  has  set  up. 

This  inscription  is  quoted  here  for  two  reasons:  1.  It  was  erected 
“for  the  life  of  Hammurapi,”  who  is  supposed  by  many  to  be  the 
Amraphel  of  Gen.  14  :  1.  Amraphel  is  supposed  to  be  a  corruption 
of  Hammurapi,  thus  Amrapi.  The  final  l  of  Amraphel  is  a  diffi¬ 
culty.  While  many  Assyriologists,  from  Schrader  onward,  have 
recognized  the  equivalence,  it  is  now  seriously  questioned  by  Jensen 
and  Eduard  Meyer,  and  absolutely  rejected  by  Bezold.  It  must 
be  said  that,  if  Amraphel  is  intended  for  Hammurapi,  the  name  had 
undergone  corruption  before  it  was  placed  in  the  Biblical  record.2 
2.  In  this  inscription  Hammurapi  is  called  “king  of  MAR-TU,”  or 
the  Westland,  a  name  by  which  the  Babylonians  often  designated 
Syria  and  Palestine.  MAR-TU  simply  means  “sunset,”  but  was 
used  like  the  Arabic  magrib  as  the  designation  of  a  region.  There 
is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  here  it  designates  Syria  and  Palestine, 

1  King,  Letters  and  Inscriptions  of  Hammurabi,  Vol.  I,  No.  66. 

2  Some  scholars  suppose  that  the  writer  of  the  account  in  Genesis  had  before  him  a  source  in  the 
cuneiform  writing  in  which  the  “pi”  at  the  end  of  Hammurapi’s  name  was  spelled  with  a  sign  that 
could  be  read  either  “pi”  or  “pil”  (see  Barton,  Origin  and  Development  of  Babylonian  Writing, 
Leipzig,  1913,  No.  185),  and  that  the  l  was  attached  in  consequence  of  a  misreading  of  this  sign. 
That,  however,  admits  corruption,  though  it  attempts  to  explain  its  cause. 


ABRAHAM  AND  ARCHAEOLOGY 


295 


so  that,  if  Amraphel  is  Hammurapi,  this  is  confirmatory  of  his  con¬ 
nection  with  the  West. 

% 

7.  Kudur-Mabug. 

The  following  inscription1  has  also  often  been  brought  into  the 
discussion  of  Genesis  14: 

1.  To  Nannar, 

2.  his  king, 

3.  Kudur-Mabug, 

4.  “Father”  of  the  Westland  (MAR-TU), 

5.  son  of  Simti-shilkhak, 

6.  when  Nannar 

7.  his  prayer 

8.  had  heard, 

9.  Enunmakh, 

10.  belonging  to  Nannar, 

11.  for  his  life 

12.  and  the  life 

13.  of  Arad-Sin,  his  son, 

14.  king  of  Larsa, 

15.  he  built. 

This  inscription  has  often  been  brought  into  connection  with 
Abraham,  partly  because  some  have  seen  in  Kudur-Mabug  the 
Chedorlaomer  of  Gen.  14  :  1,  and  partly  because  Kudur-Mabug  in 
it  calls  himself  “Father”  or  governor  of  the  Westland.  If,  however, 
Kudur-Mabug  was  intended  by  the  name  Chedorlaomer,  the  name 
had  been  corrupted  beyond  all  recognition  in  the  Biblical  tradition 
before  Gen.  14  was  written.  In  reality  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  Kudur-Mabug  and  Chedorlaomer  are  the  same.  As  to  the 
term  “Westland,”  it  probably  does  not  here  designate  Palestine,  but 
either  the  western  part  of  Elam  or  the  southern  part  of  Babylonia. 
Babylonia  lay  to  the  west  of  Elam,  and  Kudur-Mabug  placed  on  the 
throne  of  Larsa,  a  city  of  South  Babylonia,  first  his  son,  Arad-Sin, 
and  then  his  son,  Rim-Sin,  and  apparently  maintained  an  over-lord¬ 
ship  over  both  of  them.  “Westland”  accordingly  means  in  his  in¬ 
scription,  not  Palestine,  but  Babylonia.  One  of  Kudur-Mabug’s 
sons  calls  his  father  “Father”  (or  governor)  of  Emutbal,  a  region  of 
Elam.  It  is  a  mistake,  therefore,  to  bring  Kudur-Mabug  into  con¬ 
nection  with  Abraham  and  Gen.  14. 2 

1  Cuneiform  Texts,  &c.,  in  the  British  Museum,  XXI,  33. 

2  It  was  until  recently  not  known  that  Arad-Sin  and  Rim-Sin  were  different  persons,  and  some 
thought  the  king  might  be  called  either  Rim-Sin  or  Eri-aku  (Arioch,  Gen.  14  :  1).  It  is  possible 
that  Arad-Sin  may  have  been  called  Ari-aku  in  Sumerian,  but  it  is  improbable.  It  is  now  known 
that  Arad-Sin  died  30  years  before  Hammurapi  came  to  the  throne.  With  our  present  knowledge 
it  is  difficult  to  see  how  Arioch  could  be  the  name  of  Rim-Sin  unless  Rim-Sin  be  read  partly  as 
Semitic  and  partly  as  Sumerian  and  then  considerably  corrupted. 


296 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


8.  Kings  Supposed  by  Some  to  be  Those  Mentioned  in  Gen.  14. 

Some  fragmentary  tablets  from  the  Persian  period,  not  earlier 
than  the  fourth  century  b.  c.,  contain  references  which  have  been 
brought  by  some  scholars  into  connection  with  Abraham  and  the 
fourteenth  of  Genesis.  The  texts  read  as  follows: 

I1 

1 . 

2 . . . . . 

3  . ! . his  work  not . 

4  . su-ha-am-mu . 

5  . before  the  gods  the  creation  of . 

6  . day . Shamash,  who  illumines . 

7  . the  lord  of  the  gods,  Marduk,  in  the  satisfaction  of  his  heart, 

8  . his  servant,  the  region,  all  of  it,  a  counsel  not  fulfilled, 

9  . by  force  of  arms  he  overthrew.  Dursirilani,  son  of  Arad- 

Malaku  (Eri?-.  .aku) 

10  . goods  (?)  he  carried  off,  took  as  spoil,  waters  over  Babylon 

and  Esagil 

11  . his  with  the  weapon  of  his  hand  like  a  lamb  he  killed  him, 

12  . spoke  to  her,  father,  and  son;  with  the  weapon 

13.  [Great]  and  small  he  cut  off,  Tudkhula,  son  of  Gazza . 

14  . goods  he  took  as  spoil,  waters  over  Babylon  and  Esagil 

15  . his  son  with  the  weapon  of  his  hands  upon  him  fell. 

16  . of  his  dominion  before  the  temple  of  Annunit . 

17  . Elam,  the  city  Akhkhi  to  (?)  the  city  Rabbatu  he  spoiled. 

18  . like  a  deluge,  he  made  the  cities  of  Akkad,  all  of  Borsippa  (?) 

19  . ended.2  Kukukumal,  his  son  pierced  his  heart  with  a  girdle- 

dagger  of  iron. 

20  . the  enemy  took  and  the  destruction  of  these  kings,  participators 

in  wrong  (?),  .  *  . 

21  . bondage  for  which  the  king  of  the  gods,  Marduk,  was  angry 

with  them 

22  . with  sickness  their  breast  was  oppressed . 

23  . unto  ruins  were  reduced  (?).  All  of  them  to  the  king,  our  lord 

24  . knowing  (?)  the  hearts  of  the  gods,  the  gracious  Marduk,  for  the 

commemoration  of  his  name 

25  . and  namedAEsagil — to  his  place  may  he  return. 

26  . thy . may  he  make.  This,  O  king,  my  lord  we . 

27  . his  evil  his  heart  the  gods,  his  fathers . 

28  . a  participator  in  sin  shall  not  be  (?). 

II 

1  . . . . .  •  gods  (?) . 

2  . in  the  city  feared  day  (?)  [and  night  (?)] 

3  . Larsa  (?),  the  bond  of  heaven  which  unto  the  four  winds.  . . 

1  The  text  was  published  by  Pinches  in  the  Journal  of  Transactions  of  the  Victoria  Institute, 
Vol.  XXIX,  82,  83;  cf.  emendations  by  L.  W.  King,  Letters  and.  Inscriptions  of  Hammurabi, 
Vol.  I,  p.  li,  ff.  Sayce  has  also  translated  them,  filling  out  the  lacunae  by  freely  exercising  the 
imagination,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  XXVIII,  203-218,  241-251, 
and  XXIX,  7-17. 

2  This  could  be  read  Kudurkumal. 


ABRAHAM  AND  ARCHEOLOGY 


297 


4.  he  decreed  them  the  park  (?)  which  is  in  Babylon,  the  city  of  [his] 

majesty  (?); 

5.  he  decreed  them  the  possessions  of  Babylon,  small  and  great. 

6.  In  their  faithful  counsel  unto  Kukukumal,  King  of  Elam, 

7.  they  established  the  fixed  advance  which  to  them  [seemed]  good. 

8.  In  Babylon,  the  city  of  Karduniash,  kingship  he  assumed . 

9.  In  Babylon,  the  city  of  the  gods,  Marduk  set  his  throne  (?), 

10.  All,  even  the  Sodomites  of  the  plundered  temples,  obeyed  [him]. 

11.  Ravens  build  nests;  birds  dwell  [therein]; 

12.  The  ravens  croak  (?),  shrieking  they  hatch  their  young  [in  it]. 

13.  To  the  dog  crunching  the  bone  the  lady . is  favorable. 

14.  The  snake  hisses  (?),  the  evil  one  who  spits  [poison]. 

15.  Who  is  the  king  of  Elam  who  the  great  building  of  Esagil  destroyed], 

16.  which  the  Babylonians  made,  and  their  work  was . ? 

17.  This  is  what  thou  hast  written,  saying: ‘Tam  a  king,  the  son  of  a  king” .  . . . 

18.  Who  is  the  son  of  a  daughter  of  a  king,  who  on  the  royal  throne  will  sit? .  .  . 

19.  He  is  Dursil-ilani,  son  of  Arad-Malkua,  who  the  throne . 

20.  on  the  royal  throne  he  sat  and  before  his  warriors  [he  marched]. 

21.  Now  let  the  king  march  who  from  ancient  days . 

22.  has  been  proclaimed  lord  of  Babylon;  the  work  of . shall  not 

endure. 

23.  In  the  month  Siman  and  the  month  Tammuz  in  Babylon  there  was 

done . 

24.  the  work  of  the  son  of  the  magician.  The  bull  ( i .  e.,  warrior)  who  de¬ 

vastates  the  land . 

25.  The  elders  in  their  faithful  counsel . 

26.  [gave]  the  son  of  the  magician  the  place  instead  of  his  father 

27 . 1  maid . 

Two  other  similar  fragmentary  texts  belonging  to  the  series  are 
published  as  noted  above,  but  it  is  unnecessary  to  quote  them  here. 
The  two  fragments  which  we  have  translated  contain  the  most 
important  references,  and  are  sufficient  to  enable  the  reader  to 
make  up  his  mind  as  to  the  bearing  of  these  texts  upon  the  four¬ 
teenth  of  Genesis. 

Pinches  and  Sayce  read  the  name  of  the  Elamite  king,  Kukukumal, 
Kudurlakhmal,  and  identify  it  with  Chedorlaomer.  Pinches  so 
reads  it,  hesitatingly;  Sayce,  confidently.  There  is  no  reason  for  so 
reading  it,  except  the  desire  to  discover  Chedorlaomer.  The  first 
three  syllables  are  represented  in  the  cuneiform  by  the  same  sign — 
a  sign  the  most  frequent  value  of  which  is  ku.  It  does  sometimes 
have  the  value  dur,  but  never  lakh.  King  reads  it  Kukukumal, 
and  there  is  really  no  reason  for  reading  it  otherwise. 

Another  name  which  occurs  twice  is  written  in  the  two  places  with 
a  slight  difference  of  spelling.  It  is  according  to  the  most  natural 
reading  of  the  signs,  Arad-Malkua,  or  Arad-Malaku.  Sayce  and 
Pinches  read  Eri-eaku  and  identified  him  with  “Arioch,  king  of 
Elassar,”  (Gen.  14  :  1).  While  this  is  a  possible  reading,  it  is  only 


298 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


secured  by  giving  to  the  signs  their  Sumerian,  instead  of  their 
Semitic  values,  and,  as  the  documents  are  in  Semitic,  this  is  prob¬ 
ably  wrong.  The  name  is  to  be  read  Arad-Malkua.  Another  name, 
Tudkhula,  which  occurs  in  the  first  document,  has  been  identified  by 
the  same  scholars  with  “Tidal,  king  of  the  nations”  (Gen.  14  :  1), 
but  in  this  text  there  is  no  evidence  that  Tudkhula  was  a  king  at  all, 
and  the  identification  is  purely  fanciful.  It  should  be  noted  also 
that  Arad-Malkua,  the  supposed  Eri-eaku,  does  not  himself  take 
any  part  in  the  wars  here  recorded;  it  is  his  son,  Dursil-ilani,  who 
is  represented  as  a  contemporary  of  Kukukumal,  the  supposed 
Chedorlaomer. 

It  should  be  further  noted  that  these  documents  represent  a 
complete  conquest  of  Babylon  by  Elam — a  conquest  in  which 
Babylon  itself  is  laid  desolate.  It  is  not  certain  just  what  part 
Dursil-ilani  played  in  the  story.  He  may  have  been  a  vassal  king 
under  Kukukumal,  or  the  Babylonian  upon  whom  the  hopes  of  the 
people  centered,  to  free  them  from  the  yoke  of  Elam.  It  is  clear, 
however,  that  the  events  mentioned  in  these  documents  are  not  in 
harmony  with  the  supposition  that  these  monarchs  acted  as  allies  of 
Hammurapi  in  the  invasion  of  Palestine.  Hammurapi  is  excluded 
from  the  account.  Kukukumal  conquered  and  desolated  the  very 
city  in  which  Hammurapi  had  his  throne.  Kukukumal  must,  ac¬ 
cordingly,  have  lived  at  some  other  period  of  the  history,  and  the 
supposed  confirmation  of  the  account  of  the  fourteenth  chapter 
of  Genesis  has  not  yet  been  found. 

As  already  stated,  these  tablets  are  not  earlier  than  the  fourth 
century  b.  c.  The  events  which  they  record  were  probably  much 
later  than  the  time  of  Abraham.  Babylon  is  called  by  its  Cassite 
name,  Kar-duniash,  a  name  which  it  did  not  bear  until  some  hun¬ 
dreds  of  years  after  the  time  of  Hammurapi.  Many  times  in  the 
course  of  Babylonian  history  was  the  country  overrun  by  Elam, 
and  there  is  no  real  reason  to  suppose  that  the  war  here  referred  to 
belongs  to  the  age  of  Hammurapi. 


CHAPTER  X 


JACOB  AND  JOSEPH 

Appearances  of  these  Names  in  Babylonian  and  Egyptian  Records.  “The 
Tale  of  the  Two  Brothers”;  Its  Bearing  on  the  Story  of  Joseph  in  Genesis. 
Letters  to  a  Ruler  Like  Joseph.  The  Seven  Years  of  Famine.  Inscription 
Showing  Preparation  for  Famine. 

1.  Jacob. 

Three  different  men  in  Babylonia  at  the  time  of  the  Hammu- 
rapi  dynasty  bore  the  name  Jacob-el.  Thus,  in  the  reign  of 
Apil-Sin,  the  fourth  king  of  the  dynasty  (2161  to  2144  b.  c.),  two 
witnesses,  Shubna-ilu  and  Yadakh-ilu  gave  their  father’s  name  as 
Yakub-ilu,  or  Jacob-el.1  In  the  same  reign  a  witness  to  another 
document,  one  Lamaz,  had  a  Jacob-el  as  his  father.2  In  the  reign 
of  Sin-muballit,  the  next  king,  a  witness  named  Nur-Shamash  was 
also  the  son  of  a  Jacob-el.3  In  the  reign  of  the  great  Hammurapi, 
the  next  king,  a  witness  named  Sin-erbiam  gave  his  father’s  name 
simply  as  Yakub*  or  Jacob.  This  last  is  clearly  a  shortening  of 
Jacob-el.  These  men  all  lived  from  75  to  190  years  before  the  Baby¬ 
lonian  Abraham,  whose  documents  are  discussed  in  Chapter  IX. 

In  connection  with  these  names  it  should*be  noted  that  Thothmes 
III  of  Egypt,  who  made  extensive  conquests  in  Asia  between  1478 
and  1446  b.  c.,  records  the  name  of  a  city  which  he  captured  in 
Palestine  as  Y a-  -k-b‘> -ra ,  the  Egyptian  equivalent  of  Jacob-el.5  It 
does  not  seem  a  rash  guess  to  suppose  that  in  the  period  when  inter¬ 
course  between  Babylonia  and  Palestine  was  frequent  and  immi¬ 
gration  from  the  former  country  to  the  latter  was  in  progress,  some 
Babylonian  bearing  this  name  migrated  to  Palestine,  settled  there 
and  that  a  city  was  named  after  him.  Many  parallels  to  this  may 
be  found  in  the  names  of  places  in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 
That  this  place  name  in  Canaan  had  some  connection  with  the 
name  of  the  Patriarch  Jacob  is  probable,  though  just  what  that 
connection  was  it  is  impossible  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge 
to  say. 

1  Cuneiform  Texts,  & ‘c.,  in  British  Museum,  IV,  33,  22b. 

2  Meissner,  Altbabylonisches  Privatrechl,  36,  25. 

3  Cuneiform  Texts,  VIII,  25,  22. 

1  Ibid.,  II,  9,  26. 

6  Cf.  Mittheilungen  der  V orderasiatischen  Cesellschafl,  1907,  p.  27. 

299 


300 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


2.  Joseph. 

A  Babylonian  business  document  of  the  time  of  the  first  dynasty 
of  Babylon  has  among  its  witnesses  a  man  named  Yashub-ilu,  or 
Joseph-el.1 

In  the  list  of  places  which  Thothmes  III  of  Egypt  conquered  in 
Palestine  there  is  one  Ya-sha-p’-ra,  which  many  scholars  have 
taken  to  be  Joseph-el,  though  Prof.  W.  Max  Muller2  thinks  it 
rather  is  equivalent  to  Yesheb-el,  meaning  “where  God  dwells.”  In 
view  of  the  clear  Babylonian  equivalence,  however,  it  seems  prob¬ 
able  that  it  is  Joseph-el.  If  so,  it  probably  became  a  place-name  in 
Palestine  because  some  important  Babylonian  who  bore  the  name 
settled  there,  just  as  we  have  supposed  Jacob-el  did.  Some  scholars 
hold  that  it  is  connected  with  the  name  of  the  Patriarch  Joseph  in 
some  way,  but  what  that  connection  was,  we  cannot  now  say. 

3.  The  Tale  of  the  Two  Brothers.3 

Once  there  were  two  brethren,  of  one  mother  and  one  father;  Anpu  was  the 
name  of  the  elder,  and  Bata  was  the  name  of  the  younger.  Now,  as  for  Anpu,  he 
had  a  house,  and  he  had  a  wife.  But  his  little  brother  was  to  him,  as  it  were,  a 
son;  he  it  was  who  made  for  him  his  clothes;  he  it  was  who  followed  behind  his 
oxen  to  the  fields;  he  it  was  who  did  the  plowing;  he  it  was  who  harvested  the 
corn;  he  it  was  who  did  for  him  all  the  matters  which  were  in  the  field.  Behold 
his  younger  brother  grew  to  be  an  excellent  worker;  there  was  not  his  equal  in 
the  whole  land;  behold  the  spirit  of  a  god  was  in  him. 

Now  after  this  the  younger  brother  followed  his  oxen  in  the  daily  manner;  and 
every  evening  he  turned  again  to  the  house,  laden  with  all  the  herbs  of  the  field, 
with  milk  and  with  wood,  and  with  all  things  of  the  field.  And  he  put  them  down 
before  his  elder  brother  who  was  sitting  with  his  wife;  and  he  drank  and  ate,  and 
he  lay  down  in  his  stable  with  the  cattle.  And  at  the  dawn  of  day  he  took  bread 
which  he  had  baked,  and  laid  it  before  his  elder  brother;  and  he  took  with  him 
his  bread  to  the  field,  and  he  drave  his  cattle  to  pasture  in  the  fields.  And  as  he 
walked  behind  his  cattle,  they  said  to  him,  “Good  is  the  herbage  which  is  in  that 
place”;  and  he  listened  to  all  that  they  said,  and  he  took  them  to  the  good  place 
which  they  desired.  And  the  cattle  which  were  before  him  were  exceeding 
excellent,  and  they  multiplied  greatly. 

Now  at  the  time  of  plowing  his  elder  brother  said  unto  him,  “Let  us  make 
ready  for  ourselves  a  goodly  yoke  of  oxen  for  plowing,  for  the  land  has  come  out 
from  the  water;  it  is  fit  for  plowing.  Moreover,  do  thou  come  to  the  field  with 
corn,  for  we  will  begin  the  plowing  in  the  morrow  morning.”  Thus  said  he  to 
him;  and  his  younger  brother  did  all  things  as  his  elder  brother  had  spoken  unto 
him  to  do  them. 

And  when  the  morn  was  come,  they  went  to  the  fields  with  their  things;  and 
their  hearts  were  pleased  exceedingly  with  their  task  in  the  beginning  of  their 
work.  And  it  came  to  pass  after  this  that  as  they  were  in  the  field  they  stopped 

1  Cuneiform  Texts,  &c.,  in  the  British  Museum,  II,  23,  15. 

1  Mittheilungen  der  vorderasialischen  Gesellschaft,  1907,  p.  23. 

3  Taken  from  Griffith’s  translation  in  Petrie’s  Egyptian  Tales,  second  series,  London,  1895,  p. 
36,  ff. 


JACOB  AND  JOSEPH 


301 


for  corn,  and  he  sent  his  younger  brother,  saying,  “Haste  thou,  bring  to  us  corn 
from  the  farm.”  And  the  younger  brother  found  the  wife  of  his  elder  brother,  as 
she  was  sitting  tiring  her  hair.  He  said  to  her,  “Get  up,  and  give  to  me  corn, 
that  I  may  run  to  the  field,  for  my  elder  brother  hastened  me;  do  not  delay.” 
She  said  to  him,  “Go  open  the  bin,  and  thou  shalt  take  to  thyself  according  to  thv 
will,  that  I  may  not  drop  my  locks  of  hair  while  I  dress  them.” 

The  youth  went  to  the  stable;  he  took  a  large  measure,  for  he  desired  to  take 
much  corn;  he  loaded  it  with  wheat  and  barley;  and  he  went  out  carrying  it. 
She  said  to  him,  “How  much  of  the  corn  that  is  wanted,  is  that  which  is  on  thy 
shoulder?”  He  said  to  her,  “Three  bushels  of  barley,  and  two  of  wheat,  in  all 
five;  these  are  what  are  upon  my  shoulder:”  thus  said  he  to  her.  And  she  con¬ 
versed  with  him,  saying,  “There  is  great  strength  in  thee,  for  I  see  thy  might 
every  day.”  And  she 

arose  and  came  to  him,  and  conversed  with  him,  saying,  “Come  stay  with  me, 
and  it  shall  be  well  for  thee,  and  I  will  make  for  thee  beautiful  garments.”  Then 
the  youth  became  like  a  panther  of  the  south  with  fury  at  the  evil  speech  which 
she  had  made  to  him;  and  she  feared  greatly.  And  he  spake  unto  her,  saying, 
“Behold  thou  art  to  me  as  a  mother,  thy  husband  is  to  me  as  a  father,  for  he 
who  is  elder  than  I  brought  me  up.  What  is  this  wickedness  that  thou  hast  said 
to  me?  Say  it  not  to  me  again.  For  I  will  not  tell  it  to  any  man,  for  I  will  not 
let  it  be  uttered  by  the  mouth  of  any  man.”  He  lifted  up  his  burden,  and  he 
went  to  the  field  and  came  to  his  elder  brother;  and  they  took  up  their  work,  to 
labor  at  their  task. 

Now  afterward,  at  even  time,  his  elder  brother  was  returning  to  his  house; 
and  the  younger  brother  was  following  after  his  oxen,  and  he  loaded  himself  with 
all  the  things  of  the  field;  and  he  brought  his  oxen  before  him,  to  make  them  lie 
down  in  their  stable  which  was  in  the  farm.  And  behold  the  wife  of  the  elder 
brother  was  afraid  for  the  words  which  she  had  said.  She  took  a  parcel  of  fat, 
she  became  like  one  who  is  evilly  beaten,  desiring  to  say  to  her  husband,  “It  is 
thy  younger  brother  who  has  done  this  wrong.”  Her  husband  returned  in  the 
even  as  was  his  wont  of  every  day:  he  came  unto  his  house;  he  found  his  wife  ill 
of  violence;  she  did  not  give  him  water  upon  his  hands  as  he  used  to  have,  she 
did  not  make  a  light  before  him,  his  house  was  in  darkness,  and  she  was  lying 
very  sick.  Her  husband  said  to  her,  “Who  has  spoken  with  thee?”  Behold  she 
said,  “No  one  has  spoken  with  me  except  thy  younger  brother.  When  he  came 
to  take  for  thee  corn  he  found  me  sitting  alone;  he  said  to  me,  ‘Come,  let  us  stay 
together,  tie  up  thy  hair’ :  thus  spoke  he  to  me.  I  did  not  listen  to  him,  but  thus 
spake  I  to  him:  ‘Behold,  am  I  not  thy  mother,  is  not  thy  elder  brother  to  thee  as 
a  father?’  And  he  feared,  and  he  beat  me  to  stop  me  from  making  report  to  thee, 
and  if  thou  lettest  him  live  I  shall  die.  Now  behold  he  is  coming  in  the  evening; 
and  I  complain  of  these  wicked  words,  for  he  would  have  done  this  even  in  day¬ 
light.” 

And  the  elder  brother  became  as  a  panther  of  the  south;  he  sharpened  his 
knife;  he  took  it  in  his  hand;  he  stood  behind  the  door  of  the  stable  to  slay  his 
younger  brother  as  he  came  in  the  evening  to  bring  his  cattle  into  the  stable. 

Now  the  sun  went  down,  and  he  loaded  himself  with  herbs  in  his  daily  manner. 
He  came,  and  his  foremost  cow  entered  the  stable,  and  she  said  to  her  keeper, 
“Behold  thy  elder  brother  standing  before  thee  with  his  knife  to  slay  thee; 
flee  from  before  him.”  He  heard  what  his  first  cow  had  said;  and  the  next  en¬ 
tering,  she  also  said  likewise.  He  looked  beneath  the  door  of  the  stable;  he  saw 
the  feet  of  his  elder  brother;  he  was  standing  behind  the  door,  and  his  knife  was 
in  his  hand.  He  cast  down  his  load  to  the  ground,  and  betook  himself  to  flee 
swiftly;  and  his  elder  brother  pursued  after  him  with  his  knife.  Then  the 
younger  brother  cried  out  unto  Ra  Harakhti,1  saying,  “My  good  lord!  thou  art 

1  The  sun-god. 


302 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


he  who  divides  the  evil  from  the  good.”  And  Ra  stood  and  heard  his  cry;  and 
Ra  made  a  wide  water  between  him  and  his  elder  brother,  and  it  was  full  of 
crocodiles;  and  the  one  brother  was  on  one  bank,  and  the  other  on  the  other 
bank;  and  the  elder  brother  smote  twice  on  his  hands  at  not  slaying  him.  Thus 
did  he.  And  the  younger  brother  called  to  the  elder  brother  on  the  bank,  saying, 
“Stand  still  until  the  dawn  of  the  day;  and  when  Ra  ariseth,  I  shall  judge  with 
thee  before  him,  and  he  discerneth  between  the  good  and  the  evil.  For  I  shall 
not  be  with  thee  any  more  forever;  I  shall  not  be  in  the  place  in  which  thou  art; 
I  shall  go  to  the  valley  of  the  acacia.” 


We  need  not  follow  the  story  further.  Those  who  wish  to  do  so 
are  referred  to  Petrie’s  Egyptian  Tales.  From  this  point  onward, 
it  contains  many  mythological  features. 

This  story,  in  the  form  in  which  we  have  it,  was  written  for  Seti  II 
(1209-1205  b.  c.)  of  the  nineteenth  Egyptian  dynasty,  while  that 
monarch  was  still  crown  prince.  Scholars  of  all  shades  of  opinion 
have  recognized  in  it  a  striking  parallel  to  the  story  of  Joseph  in  the 
house  of  Potiphar,  in  Genesis  39  :  1-20.  Joseph,  like  the  younger 
brother  of  this  tale,  was  trusted  with  everything  about  his  master’s 
place;  Potiphar’s  wife,  like  the  sister-in-law.  of  the  tale,  tempted 
Joseph;  Joseph,  like  the  younger  brother,  resisted  temptation;  and 
Potiphar’s  wife,  like  the  sister-in-law,  charged  him  with  the  crime 
which  he  had  been  unwilling  to  commit. 

Scholars  of  the  critical  school  regard  this  as  the  original  of  the 
story  in  Genesis.  While  they  recognize  that  it  is  a  theme  which  is 
not  confined  to  Egyptians  and  Hebrews  (compare  for  other  paral¬ 
lels  Lang,  Myth ,  Ritual ,  and  Religion ,  II,  303,  ff.),  the  fact  that  the 
theme  of  the  Biblical  story  is  laid  in  Egypt  leads  them  to  think  it 
extremely  probable  that  there  is  a  connection  between  the  two. 

Conservative  scholars  on  the  other  hand  hold  that  in  all  probabil¬ 
ity  there  was  more  than  one  such  scandal  in  Egypt,  and  account  for 
the  likeness  by  the  similarity  which  would  naturally  present  itself 
in  such  cases,  holding  that  the  Egyptian  tale  has  no  bearing  on  the 
credibility  of  that  in  Genesis. 

4.  Letters  to  a  Ruler  Like  Joseph. 

Among  the  letters  in  the  Babylonian  language  and  script  found 
at  El-Amarna  in  Egypt  in  the  winter  of  1887-1888, 1  many  of  which 
were  written  to  Amenophis  III  and  Amenophis  IV,  Kings  of  Egypt, 
1411-1357  b.  c.,  by  Egyptian  vassals  in  Palestine  and  Syria,  there 
are  two  which  were  written  to  a  Semite  named  Dudu  (David), 
which  show  that  this  Semite  held  at  the  Egyptian  court  a  position 


1  Cf.  Part  I,  p.  35. 


JACOB  AND  JOSEPH 


303 


analogous  to  that  which  Joseph,  as  ruler  of  Egypt,  is  said  to  have 
held  (Gen.  41  :  39,  f . ;  50  :  26).  These  letters  are  as  follows: 

I1 

1.  To  Dtidu,  my  lord,  my  father, 

2.  speaks  Aziru,  thy  son,  thy  servant: 

3.  at  the  feet  of  my  father  I  fall. 

4.  Unto  my  father  may  there  be  health! 

5.  0  Dhdu,  truly  I  have  given  ( i .  e.,  done) 

6.  the  wish  of  the  king,  my  lord, 

7.  and  whatever  is  the  wish 

8.  of  the  king,  my  lord,  let  him  send 

9.  and  I  will  give  (do)  it. 

10.  Further:  see,  thou  art  there, 

11.  my  father,  and  whatever  is  the  wish 

12.  of  Dtidu,  my  father,  send  it 

13.  and  I  will  indeed  give  (do)  it. 

14.  Behold,  thou  art  my  father  and  my  lord 

15.  and  I  am  thy  son.  The  lands  of  the  Amorites 

16.  are  thy  lands,  and  my  house  is  thy  house, 

17.  and  whatever  thy  wish  is, 

18.  send,  and  I 

19.  shall  behold,  and  verily  will  give  (do)  it. 

20.  And  see,  thou  in  the  presence  of 

21.  the  king,  my  lord,  sittest. 

22 . enemies 

23.  words  of  slander 

24.  before  my  father,  before 

25.  the  king,  my  lord,  have  spoken, 

26.  but  do  thou  not  count  them  just! 

27.  And  behold  thou  in  the  presence 

28.  of  the  king,  my  lord,  as  a  dignitary  (?) 

29.  sittest . 

30.  and  the  words  of  slander 

31.  against  me  do  not  count  true. 

32.  Also  I  am  a  servant  of  the  king,  my  lord, 

33.  and  from  the  words  of  the  king,  my  lord* 

34.  and  from  the  words  of  Dtidu,  my  father, 

35.  I  shall  not  depart  forever. 

36.  But  when  the  king,  my  lord,  does  not  love  me, 

37.  but  hates  me, 

38.  then  I — what  shall  I  say? 

II2 

1.  To  Dtidu,  my  lord,  my  father, 

2.  speaks  Aziru,  thy  servant: 

3.  at  the  feet  of  my  lord  I  fall. 

4.  Khatib  has  come 

5.  and  has  brought  the  words 

6.  of  the  king,  my  lord,  important  and  good, 

1  Winckler  und  Abel,  Thontafelnfund  von  El-Amarna,  No.  40.  Cf.  Knudtzon,  Die  El-Amarna 
Tafeln,  No.  158. 

2  Winckler  und  Abel,  Thontafelnfund  von  El-Amarna,  No.  38.  See  also  Knudtzon,  Die  El- 
Amarna  Tafeln,  No.  164. 


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ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


7.  and  I  am  very,  very  glad, 

8.  and  my  land  and  my  brethren, 

9.  the  servants  of  the  king,  my  lord, 

10.  and  the  servants  of  Dudu,  my  lord, 

11.  are  very,  very  glad, 

12.  when  there  comes 

13.  the  breath  of  the  king,  my  lord, 

14.  unto  me.  From  the  words 

15.  of  my  lord,  my  god,  my  sun-god, 

16.  and  from  the  words  of  Dudu, 

17.  my  lord,  I  shall  not  depart. 

18.  My  lord,  truly  Khatib 

19.  stands  with  me. 

20.  I  and  he  will  come. 

21.  My  lord,  the  king  of  the  Hittites 

22.  has  come  into  Nukhashshi, 

23.  so  that  I  cannot  come. 

24.  Would  that  the  king  of  the  Hittites  would  depart! 

25.  Then  truly  I  would  come, 

26.  I  and  Khatib. 

27.  May  the  king,  my  lord,  my  words  * 

28.  hear!  My  lord,  I  fear 

29.  on  account  of  the  face  of  the  king,  my  lord, 

30.  and  on  account  of  the  face  of  Dudu. 

31.  And  now  by  my  gods 

32.  and  my  angels  verily  I  have  sworn, 

33.  O  Dudu  and  nobles 

34.  of  the  king,  my  lord,  that  truly  I  will  come. 

35.  And  so,  Dudu 

36.  and  the  king,  my  lord,  and  the  nobles, 

37.  “Truly  we  will  not  conceive  anything 

38.  against  Aziru  that  is  unfavorable,” — 

39.  even  thus  may  ye  swear 

40.  by  my  gods  and  the  god  A! 

41.  And  truly  I 

42.  and  Khatib  are  faithful  servants  of  the  king. 

43.  O  Dfidu,  thou  shalt  truly  know 

44.  that  I  will  come  to  thee. 


The  Aziru  of  these  letters  was  the  chieftain  or  petty  king  of  the 
Amorites,  who  were  living  at  the  time  to  the  eastward  of  Phoenicia, 
between  the  Lebanon  and  Anti-Lebanon  mountains.  The  way 
in  which  he  addresses  Dudu  is  significant.  Dudu  is  classed  con¬ 
tinually  with  the  king.  Aziru  fears  to  offend  Dudu  as  he  fears  to 
offend  the  king;  the  words  of  Dudu  are  of  equal  importance  with 
those  of  the  king.  Dudu  clearly  occupied  a  position  of  power  with 
the  king  of  Egypt  similar  to  that  ascribed  to  Joseph  in  Genesis  41. 
Moreover,  Dudu  is  a  Semitic  name;  vocalized  a  little  differently,  it 
becomes  David. 

The  king  to  whom  this  letter  was  written  was  Amenophis  III  or 


JACOB  AND  JOSEPH 


305 


Amenophis  IV,  in  whose  reigns  Semitic  influence  was  especially 
strong  in  Egypt.  Amenophis  III  took  as  his  favorite  wife  a  woman 
named  Tiy,  daughter  of  Yuaa  and  Tuau,  whose  mummies,  discov¬ 
ered  a  few  years  ago,  show,  some  think,  that  they  were  Semitic. 
Queen  Tiy  was  very  influential  during  the  reign  of  her  son,  Amen¬ 
ophis  IV,  and  was  in  part  the  cause  of  the  remarkable  religious 
reform  which  he  undertook  (Part  I,  Chapter  I,  §  6  (vii)).  It  is  not, 
accordingly,  strange  to  find  that  the  chief  minister  of  one  of  these 
kings  was  a  Semite.  Of  course,  Dudu  cannot  be  identified  with 
Joseph,  but  his  career  shows  that  such  careers  as  that  of  Joseph 
were  not  impossible  at  this  period  of  Egyptian  history. 

5.  The  Seven  Years  of  Famine. 

The  following-  inscription  was  found  cut  on  a  rock  between  the 
island  of  Elephantine  and  the  First  Cataract,  and  was  first  pub¬ 
lished  by  Brugsch  in  1891.  It  is  written  in  hieroglyphic  characters, 
and  was  apparently  inscribed  in  the  reign  of  Ptolemy  X,  117-89 
b.  c.  It  relates  how  King  Zoser,  of  the  third  dynasty,  who  began 
to  reign  about  2980  b.  c.,  nearly  2,800  years  before  the  inscription 
was  written,  appealed  to  Khnum,  the  god  of  Elephantine,  because 
of  a  famine.  The  part  of  the  text  which  interests  us  is  as  follows:1 

“I  am  very  anxious  on  account  of  those  who  are  in  the  palace.  My  heart  is  in 
great  anxiety  on  account  of  misfortune,  for  in  my  time  the  Nile  has  not  over¬ 
flowed  for  a  period  of  seven  years.  There  is  scarcely  any  produce  of  the  field; 
herbage  fails;  eatables  are  wanting.  Every  man  robs  his  neighbor.  Men 
move  (?)  with  nowhere  to  go.  The  children  cry,  the  young  people  creep  along 
(?).  The  aged  heart  is  bowed  down;  their  limbs  are  crippled;  they  sit  (?)  on  the 

earth.  Their  arms  are . The  people  of  the  court  are  at  their  wits’  end. 

The  store-houses  (?)  were  built,  but . and  all  that  was  in  them  has 

been  consumed.” 

As  Brugsch2  saw,  this  inscription  gives  a  graphic  account  of  the 
suffering  caused  by  seven  such  years  of  famine  as  are  said  to  have 
occurred  in  the  time  of  Joseph  (Gen.  41  :  30,  54,  ff.).  It  cannot  be 
the  same  seven-year  famine  as  that  referred  to  in  Genesis,  as  it  is 
placed  several  centuries  too  early  to  coincide  with  the  time  of 
Joseph.  As  the  inscription  is  about  2,800  years  later  than  the 
event  it  describes,  its  historical  accuracy  might  be  questioned,  but 
it  is  probable  that  it  was  a  renewal  of  an  earlier  inscription.  But 
even  if  its  historical  accuracy  be  impugned,  it  witnesses  to  a  native 
Egyptian  tradition  that  such  famines  were  possible. 

1  Translated  from  the  German  rendering  of  Ranke  in  Gressmann’s  Altorientalische  Texte  und 
Bilder  zum  Alten  Testament,  Tubingen,  1909,  p.  223. 

2  See  his  Sieben  Jahre  der  Hungersnot.  1891. 


306 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


6.  Inscription  Showing  Preparation  for  Famine. 

Inscription  of  Baba  of  El-Kab1 

“The  chief  at  the  table  of  the  sovereign,  Baba,  the  risen  again,  speaks  thus: 
I  loved  my  father;  I  honored  my  mother;  my  brothers  and  sisters  loved  me.  I 
went  out  of  the  door  of  my  house  with  a  benevolent  heart;  I  stood  there  with 
refreshing  hand;  splendid  were  my  preparations  of  what  I  collected  for  the  festal 
day.  Mild  was  (my)  heart,  free  from  violent  anger.  The  gods  bestowed  upon 
me  abundant  prosperity  upon  earth.  The  city  wished  me  health  and  a  life  of 
full  enjoyment.  I  punished  the  evil-doers.  The  children  who  stood  before  me 
in  the  town  during  the  days  which  I  fulfilled  were — great  and  small — 60;  just 
as  many  beds  were  provided  for  them,  just  as  many  chairs  (?),  just  as  many 
tables  (?).  They  all  consumed  120  ephahs  of  durra,  the  milk  of  3  cows,  52  goats, 
and  9  she-asses,  a  hin  of  balsam,  and  2  jars  of  oil. 

“My  words  may  seem  a  jest  to  the  gainsayer,  but  I  call  the  god  Mut  to  witness 
that  what  I  say  is  true.  I  had  all  this  prepared  in  my  house;  in  addition  I  put 
cream  in  the  store-chamber  and  beer  in  the  cellar  in  a  more  than  sufficient  num¬ 
ber  of  hin-measures. 

“I  collected  corn  as  a  friend  of  the  harvest-god.  I  was  watchful  in  time  of 
sowing.  And  when  a  famine  arose,  lasting  many  years,  I  distributed  corn  to  the 
city  each  year  of  famine.” 

The  Baba  who  wrote  this  inscription  lived  under  the  eighteenth 
Egyptian  dynasty,  about  1500  b.  c.,  or  a  little  before.  Brugsch 
pointed  out  many  years  ago  that  Baba’s  concluding  statement  forms 
an  interesting  parallel  to  the  conduct  of  Joseph  as  told  in  Gen. 
41  : 47-57.  Baba  claims  to  have  done  for  his  city,  El-Kab,  what 
Joseph  is  said  to  have  done  for  all  Egypt.  His  statement  affords 
striking  evidence  of  the  historical  reality  of  famines  in  Egypt,  and 
of  such  economic  preparation  for  them. 


1  From  Brugsch’s  Egypt  under  the  Pharaohs,  London,  1881, 1,  303,  ff. 


CHAPTER  XI 


PALESTINE  IN  THE  PATRIARCHAL  AGE 

The  Tale  oe  Sintjhe.  Communication  between  Egypt  and  Palestine. 

1.  The  Tale  of  Sinuhe. 

In  the  year  1970  b.  c.,  when  Amenemhet  I  died  and  was  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  Sesostris  I,  an  Egyptian  of  high  rank,  named  Sinuhe,  for 
some  reason  now  unknown  to  us,  fled  from  Egypt  to  Asia.  The 
details  of  his  escape  from  Egypt  are  not  of  interest  to  the  Biblical 
student,  but  his  description  of  the  hardships  encountered  in  the 
desert  and  of  his  experiences  in  eastern  Palestine  are  of  great  value, 
as  they  afford  us  our  earliest  description  of  that  country  outside  the 
Bible.  The  following  extract  begins  just  after  Sinuhe  had  told  how 
he  escaped  the  guards  in  the  fort  which  stood  at  the  eastern  frontier 
of  Egypt.1 

I  went  on  at  the  time  of  evening, 

As  the  earth  brightened,  I  arrived  at  Peten. 

When  I  had  reached  the  lake  of  Kemwer,2 
I  fell  down  for  thirst,  fast  came  my  breath, 

My  throat  was  hot, 

I  said:  “This  is  the  taste  of  death.” 

I  upheld  my  heart,  I  drew  my  limbs  together, 

As  I  heard  the  sound  of  lowing  cattle, 

I  beheld  the  Bedawin. 

That  chief  among  them,  who  had  been  in  Egypt,  recognized  me. 

He  gave  me  water,  he  cooked  for  me  milk. 

I  went  with  him  to  his  tribe, 

Good  was  that  which  they  did  (for  me). 

One  land  sent  me  on  to  another, 

I  loosed  for  Suan,3 
I  arrived  at  Kedem;4 * 6 
I  spent  a  year  and  a  half  there. 


1  From  Breasted’s  Ancient  Records,  Egypt,  I,  p.  237,  ff. 

2  An  Egyptian  name  of  the  northern  extension  of  the  Gulf  of  Suez. 

3  Some  Egyptian  trading-post  in  Asia. 

4  An  early  name  for  the  region  east  of  the  Jordan  and  the  Dead  Sea.  It  is  called  Kedemah  in 

Gen.  25  :  15  and  1  Chron.  1  :  30;  Kedemoth  in  Deut.  2  :  26,  and  translated  “East”  in  Judges 

6  :  3,  33;  7  :  12;  8  :  10,  11.  In  Gen.  and  Chron.  the  name  is  applied  to  a  person. 

30/ 


308 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Emuienshe,1  that  sheik  of  Upper  [Ru]tenu,2  brought  me  forth 
saying  to  me:  “Happy  art  thou  with  me, 

(for)  thou  hearest  the  speech  of  Egypt.” 

He  said  this  (for)  he  knew  my  character, 

He  had  heard  of  my  wisdom; 

The  Egyptians,  who  were  there  with  him,  bare  witness  of  me. 

The  Amorite  chieftain  then  questioned  Sinuhe  concerning  his 
flight.  He  gave  evasive  answers,  merging  with  his  reply  a  long 
hymn  in  praise  of  the  king.  After  this  Emuienshe  said  to  him: 

“Behold,  thou  shalt  now  abide  with  me; 

Good  is  that  which  I  shall  do  for  thee.” 

He  put  me  at  the  head  of  his  children, 

He  married  me  to  his  eldest  daughter, 

He  made  me  select  for  myself  of  his  land, 

Of  the  choicest  of  that  which  he  had, 

On  his  boundary  with  another  land. 

It  was  a  goodly  land,  named  Yaa;3 
There  were  figs  in  it  and  vines, 

More  plentiful  than  water  was  its  wine, 

Copious  was  its  honey,  plenteous  its  oil; 

All  fruits  were  upon  its  trees. 

Barley  was  there  and  spelt, 

Without  end  all  cattle. 

Moreover,  great  was  that  which  came  to  me, 

Which  came  for  love  of  me, 

When  he  appointed  me  sheik  of  the  tribe, 

From  the  choicest  of  his  land. 

I  portioned  the  daily  bread, 

And  wine  for  every  day, 

Cooked  flesh  and  fowl  in  roast; 

Besides  the  wild  goats  of  the  hills, 

Which  were  trapped  for  me,  and  brought  to  me; 

Besides  that  which  my  dogs  captured  for  me. 

There  was  much — made  for  me, 

And  milk  in  every  sort  of  cooked  dish. 

I  spent  many  years, 

My  children  became  strong, 

Each  the  mighty  man  of  his  tribe. 

The  messenger  going  north, 

Or  passing  southward  to  the  court, 

He  turned  in  to  me. 

For  I  had  all  men  turn  in  (to  me). 

The  tale  goes  on  concerning  the  personal  prowess  of  Sinuhe,  who, 
in  his  old  age,  returned  to  Egypt  and  made  his  peace  with  the  king. 

1  This  is  an  Amorite  name,  Ammi-anshi.  It  shows  that  the  Amorites  were  already  in  this 
region.  Later  the  Hebrews  found  Sihon,  the  Amorite  here;  see  Num.  21  :  21,  ff.  and  Deut.  1  :  4,  ff. 

2  The  Egyptian  name  for  the  higher  parts  of  Palestine  and  Syria.  The  Egyptians  had  no  /; 
they  always  used  r  instead.  The  name  is  identical  with  the  Hebrew  Lotan,  Gen.  36  :  20,  of  which 
Lot  is  a  shorter  form. 

3  Perhaps  the  same  name  as  Aiah  (Ajah)  of  Gen.  36  :  24  and  1  Chron.  1  :  40. 


PALESTINE  IN  THE  PATRIARCHAL  AGE  309 


2.  Communication  between  Egypt  and  Palestine. 

This  document  from  the  early  patriarchal  age  reveals  a  close 
relationship  between  Egypt  and  Palestine.  There  was  frequent 
communication  between  Kedem  and  Egypt;  messengers  went  to 
and  fro.  The  Egyptian  language  was  understood  at  the  court  of 
the  Amorite  chieftain.  These  conditions  throw  light  on  the  narra¬ 
tives  of  the  descent  of  Abraham  and  Jacob  to  Egypt.  Sinuhe’s 
description  of  his  life  necessarily  reminds  one  of  the  description 
of  Palestine  so  often  met  with  in  the  Pentateuch,  Joshua,  and  the 
prophets,  “a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey.”  (See,  for  ex¬ 
ample,  Exod.  3  : 8,  17.) 

(For  an  addition  to  this  chapter ,  see  Appendix.) 


CHAPTER  XII 


MOSES  AND  THE  EXODUS 

The  Legend  of  Sargon  of  Agade;  Its  Resemblance  to  the  Story  of  Moses. 
The  Pillar  of  Merneptah;  The  Only  Appearance  of  the  Name  “Israel”  Outside 
of  the  Bible. 

I.  The  Legend  of  Sargon  of  Agade. 

The  following  legend1  contains  a  story  of  the  exposure  of  an  infant 
on  a  river,  strikingly  like  that  told  of  Moses. 

1.  Sargon,  the  mighty  king,  king  of  Agade  am  I, 

2.  My  mother  was  lowly;  my  father  I  did  not  know;2 

3.  The  brother  of  my  father  dwelt  in  the  mountain. 

4.  My  city  is  Azupiranu,  which  is  situated  on  the  bank  of  the  Euphrates. 

5.  My  lowly  mother  conceived  me,  in  secret  she  brought  me  forth. 

6.  She  placed  me  in  a  basket  of  reeds,  she  closed  my  entrance  with  bitumen, 

7.  She  cast  me  upon  the  river,  which  did  not  overflow  me. 

8.  The  river  carried  me,  it  brought  me  to  Akki,  the  irrigator. 

9.  Akki,  the  irrigator,  in  the  goodness  of  his  heart  lifted  me  out, 

10.  Akki,  the  irrigator,  as  his  own  son . brought  me  up; 

II.  Akki,  the  irrigator,  as  his  gardener  appointed  me. 

12.  When  I  was  a  gardener  the  goddess  Ishtar  loved  me, 

13.  And  for  four  years  I  ruled  the  kingdom. 

14.  The  black-headed3  peoples  I  ruled,  I  governed; 

15.  Mighty  mountains  with  axes  of  bronze  I  destroyed  (?). 

16.  I  ascended  the  upper  mountains; 

17.  I  burst  through  the  lower  mountains. 

18.  The  country  of  the  sea  I  besieged  three  times; 

19.  Dilmun4 1  captured  (?). 

20.  Unto  the  great  Dur-ilu  I  went  up,  I . 

21 . 1  altered . 

22.  Whatsoever  king  shall  be  exalted  after  me, 

23 . _ . . . 

24.  Let  him  rule,  let  him  govern  the  black-headed  peoples; 

25.  Mighty  mountains  with  axes  of  bronze  let  him  destroy; 

26.  Let  him  ascend  the  upper  mountains, 

27.  Let  him  break  through  the  lower  mountains; 

28.  The  country  of  the  sea  let  him  besiege  three  times; 

29.  Dilmun  let  him  capture; 

30.  To  great  Dur-ilu  let  him  go  up. 

1  From  Cuneiform  Texts,  b°c.,  in  the  British  Museum,  XIII,  42;  cf.  also  King,  Chronicles  o] 
Early  Babylonian  Kings,  II,  87,  II. 

2  Another  tablet  reads  “a  father  I  had  not.” 

3  A  name  for  the  Semitic  peoples  of  Babylonia. 

4  An  island  in  the  Persian  Gulf. 

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MOSES  AND  THE  EXODUS 


311 


The  rest  is  too  broken  for  connected  translation. 

It  is  thought  by  some  scholars  of  the  critical  school  that  the 
parallelism  between  the  secret  birth,  the  exposure,  the  rescue  and 
adoption  of  Sargon,  and  the  account  of  the  secret  birth,  exposure, 
rescue,  and  adoption  of  Moses  in  Exod.  2  :  1-10  is  too  close  to  be 
accidental.  Conservative  scholars,  on  the  other  hand,  hold  that,  if 
the  legend  of  Sargon  is  historical,  it  merely  affords  an  example  of  a 
striking  coincidence  of  events  in  two  independent  lives. 

2.  The  Pillar  of  Merneptah. 

In  the  fifth  year  of  King  Merneptah,  who  ruled  from  1225-1215 
b.  c.,  and  who  is  thought  to  be  the  Pharaoh  of  the  exodus,  he  in¬ 
scribed  on  a  pillar  an  account  of  his  wars  and  victories.  The  in¬ 
scription  concludes  with  the  following  poetic  strophe:1 

The  kings  are  overthrown,  saying:  “salaam!” 

Not  one  holds  up  his  head  among  the  nine  bows.2 

Wasted  is  Tehenu,3  v 

Kheta4  is  pacified, 

Plundered  is  the  Canaan5  with  every  evil, 

Carried  off  is  Askelon, 

Seized  upon  is  Gezer, 

Yenoam6  is  made  as  a  thing  not  existing. 

Israel  is  desolated,  his  seed  is  not; 

Palestine  has  become  a  widow  for  Egypt. 

All  lands  are  united,  they  are  pacified; 

Every  one  that  is  turbulent  is  bound  by  King  Merneptah,  who  gives  life  like 
Ra  every  day. 

This  inscription  contains  the  only  mention  of  Israel  in  a  document 
of  this  age  outside  the  Bible.  It  is,  for  that  reason,  of  great  im¬ 
portance.  It  should  be  noted  that  Israel  is  mentioned  along  with 
peoples  and  places  in  Palestine  and  Phoenicia.  The  Israel  here 
referred  to  was  not,  accordingly,  in  Egypt.  Israel,  on  the  other 
hand,  may  not  have  been  more  than  a  nomadic  people.  The 
Egyptians  used  a  certain  “determinative”  in  connection  with  the 
names  of  settled  peoples.  That  sign  is  here  used  with  Tehenu, 
Kheta,  Askelon,  Gezer,  and  Yenoam,  but  not  with  Israel. 

As  Merneptah  has  been  supposed  by  many  to  be  the  Pharaoh 
in  whose  reign  the  exodus  occurred,  the  mention  of  Israel  here  has 

1  Taken  from  Breasted’s  Ancient  Records,  Egypt,  III,  p.  264,  ff. 

2  That  is,  the  foreign  nations. 

3  That  is,  Lybia,  which  lay  to  the  west  of  the  Egyptian  Delta. 

4  That  is,  the  Hittites. 

5  “The  Canaan”  refers  to  the  land  of  Canaan,  probably  here  Phoenicia. 

6  Yenoam  was  a  town  situated  at  the  extreme  north  of  Galilee,  just  at  the  end  of  the  valley  be¬ 
tween  the  two  ranges  of  the  Lebanon  mountains. 


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somewhat  puzzled  scholars,  and  different  explanations  of  the  fact 
have  arisen.  At  least  one  scholar  holds  that  the  exodus  occurred  in 
Merneptah’s  third  year,  and  that  he  afterward  attacked  the 
Hebrews.  Others  have  supposed  that  not  all  the  Hebrews  had  been 
in  Egypt,  but  only  the  Joseph  tribes.  Still  others  have  thought  that 
the  Leah  tribes  had  made  their  exodus  during  the  eighteenth 
dynasty,  and  that  it  was  these  with  whom  Merneptah  fought,  while 
the  Rachel  tribes  made  their  exodus  under  the  nineteenth  dynasty. 
Opinions  vary  according  to  the  critical  views  of  different  writers. 
All  scholars  would  welcome  more  information  on  these  problems. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


THE  CODE  OF  HAMMURAPI  AND  THE  PENTATEUCH 

The  Text  oe  the  Code;  Resemblance  to  and  Contrast  with  the  Mosaic  Code. 
The  Mosaic  Code  Not  Borrowed  from  the  Babylonian;  Different  Underlying 
Conceptions. 

1.  The  Text  of  the  Code;  Comparison  with  the  Mosaic  Code. 

The  following  code  of  laws  was  inscribed  by  order  of  Hammurapi, 
of  the  first  dynasty  of  Babylon  (2104-2061  b.  c.),  on  a  block  of 
black  diorite  nearly  eight  feet  in  height  and  set  up  in  Esagila,  the 
temple  of  Marduk,  in  Babylon,  so  that  the  people  might  have  the 
laws  in  the  mother-tongue.  As  this  last  statement  implies,  the 
laws  are  written  in  Semitic  Babylonian;  before  the  time  of  Hammu¬ 
rapi  the  laws  had  been  written  in  Sumerian.  At  some  later  time 
an  Elamite  conqueror,  who  was  overrunning  Babylonia,  took  this 
pillar  away  to  Susa  as  a  trophy.  In  course  of  time  the  pillar  was 
broken  into  three  parts,  which  were  found  by  the  French  expedition 
under  de  Morgan  in  December,  1901,  and  January,  1902,  while 
excavating  at  Susa.  As  the  code  is  the  oldest  known  code  of  laws 
in  the  world,  being  a  thousand  years  older  than  Moses,  and  as  it 
affords  some  interesting  peculiarities  as  well  as  some  striking 
parallels  to  the  laws  in  Exodus  21-23  and  in  Deuteronomy,  a  trans¬ 
lation  of  it,  with  some  comparison  of  Exodus  and  Deuteronomy, 
is  here  given: 

Against  Witches 

§  1.  If  a  man  brings  an  accusation  against  a  man,  that  he  has  laid  a  -death- 
spell  upon  him,  and  has  not  proved  it,  the  accuser  shall  be  put  to  death.1 

§  2.  If  a  man  accuses  another  of  practising  sorcery  upon  him,  but  has  not 
proved  it,  he  against  whom  the  charge  of  sorcery  is  made  shall  go  to  the  sacred 
river;  into  the  sacred  river  he  shall  plunge,  and  if  the.sacred  river  overpowers  him, 
his  accuser  shall  take  possession  of  his  house.  If  the  sacred  river  shows  that 
man  to  be  innocent,  and  he  is  unharmed,  he  who  charged  him  with  sorcery  shall 
be  killed.  He  who  plunged  into  the  sacred  river  shall  take  the  house  of  his 
accuser. 


1  Translated  from  the  cuneiform  text  in  Harper’s  Code  of  Hammurabi,  and  Ungnad’s  Keil- 
schrifttexte  der  Gesetze  Hammurabis. 


313 


314 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


With  these  laws  we  should  compare  Exod.  22  :  18,  which  imposes 
the  death  penalty  upon  witches,  and  Deut.  18  :  10,  fL,  which  de¬ 
clares  that  there  shall  be  no  sorcerer,  diviner,  magician,  or  charmer 
in  Israel  and  promises  a  line  of  prophets  to  render  these  unnecessary. 
Magic  is  banished  from  Israel;  its  presence  in  Babylonia  is  taken  for 
granted,  and  only  some  of  its  exercises,  which  were  supposed  to  be 
especially  deadly,  were  forbidden.  In  §  2  the  man  accused  of 
sorcery  is  to  be  tried  by  ordeal.  He  is  to  plunge  into  the  river  and 
if  he  can  swim  in  its  current,  he  is  innocent.  Trial  by  ordeal  is  found 
but  once  in  the  Hebrew  laws  (Num.  5  :  11-28).  There  both  the 
crime  and  the  ordeal  are  very  different  from  this. 

Note  that  in  these  sections  the  false  accuser  suffers  in  just  the 
way  he  has  tried  to  bring  suffering  to  the  other.  This  is  the  law  of 
retaliation,  which  appears  in  Deut.  19  :  16-21,  where  it  is  applied 
to  false  witnesses  in  the  same  way  as  here.  It  will  be  found  under¬ 
lying  many  of  the  penalties  of  this  code. 

Laws  Concerning  False  Witness 

§  3.  If  in  a  case  a  man  has  borne  false  witness,  or  accused  a  man  without 
proving  it,  if  that  case  is  a  capital  case,  that  man  shall  be  put  to  death. 

§  4.  If  he  has  borne  witness  in  a  case  of  grain  or  money,  the  penalty  of  that 
case  he  shall  himself  bear. 

Hebrew  law  was  similar;  a  false  wdtness  was  to  be  visited  with 
the  penalty  which  he  had  purposed  to  bring  upon  his  brother 
(Deut.  19  :  18,  19). 

Against  Reversing  a  Judicial  Decision 

§  5.  If  a  judge  has  pronounced  a  judgment,  made  a  decision,  caused  it  to  be 
sealed,  and  afterward  has  altered  his  judgment,  that  judge  they  shall  convict  on 
account  of  the  case  which  he  decided  and  altered;  the  penalty  which  in  that  case 
he  imposed  he  shall  pay  twelvefold,  and  in  the  assembly  from  the  seat  of  his 
judgment  they  shall  expel  him;  he  shall  not  return;  with  the  judges  in  a  case  he 
shall  not  sit. 

Hebrew  law  presents  no  parallel  to  this. 

Against  Theft 

§  6.  If  a  man  steals  the  goods  of  a  god  (temple)  or  of  a  palace,  that  man  shall 
be  put  to  death,  and  he  by  whose  hand  the  stolen  goods  were  received  shall  be 
put  to  death. 

§  7.  If  a  man  purchases  or  receives  on  deposit  either  silver,  gold,  man-servant, 
maid-servant,  ox,  sheep,  ass,  or  anything  whatever  from  the  hand  of  a  minor  or 
a  slave  without  witnesses  or  contracts,  that  man  is  a  thief;  he  shall  be  put  to 
death. 


HAMMURAPI  AND  THE  PENTATEUCH 


315 


§  8.  If  a  man  has  stolen  ox,  or  sheep,  or  ass,  or  pig,  or  a  boat,  either  from  a 
god  (temple)  or  a  palace,  he  shall  pay  thirtyfold.  If  he  is  a  poor  man,  he  shall 
restore  tenfold.  If  the  thief  has  nothing  to  pay,  he  shall  be  put  to  death. 

§  9.  If  a  man,  who  has  lost  anything,  finds  that  which  was  lost  in  a  man’s 
hand,  (and)  the  man  in  whose  hand  the  lost  thing  was  found  says:  “A  seller  sold 
it;  I  bought  it  before  witnesses”;  and  the  owner  of  the  lost  thing  says:  “I  will 
bring  witnesses  who  know  that  the  lost  thing  is  mine”;  if  the  purchaser  brings 
the  seller  who  sold  it  to  him  and  the  witnesses  in  whose  presence  it  was  bought, 
and  the  owner  of  the  lost  thing  brings  the  witnesses  who  know  that  the  lost 
thing  is  his,  the  judges  shall  examine  their  testimony.  The  witnesses  before 
whom  the  purchaser  purchased  it,  and  the  witnesses  who  know  the  lost  thing, 
shall  give  their  testimony  in  the  presence  of  a  god.  The  seller  is  a  thief;  he  shall 
be  put  to  death.  The  owner  of  the  lost  thing  shall  take  that  which  was  lost. 
The  purchaser  shall  take  from  the  house  of  the  seller  the  money  which  he  had 
paid. 

§  10.  If  the  purchaser  does  not  produce  the  seller  who  sold  it  to  him  and  the 
witnesses  before  whom  he  bought  it,  and  the  owner  of  the  lost  thing  produces 
the  witnesses  who  know  that  the  lost  thing  is  his,  the  purchaser  is  the  thief; 
he  shall  be  put  to  death.  The  owner  «of  the  lost  thing  shall  take  that  which  he 
lost. 

§  11.  If  the  owner  of  the  lost  thing  does  not  bring  the  witnesses  who  know 
that  the  lost  thing  is  his,  he  is  one  who  has  attempted  fraud;  he  shall  be  put  to 
death. 

§  12.  If  the  seller  has  died,  the  purchaser  shall  recover  from  the  house  of  the 
seller  the  damages  of  that  case  fivefold. 

§  13.  If  that  man  has  not  his  witnesses  near,  the  judges  shall  set  an  appointed 
time  within  six  months;  and  if,  within  six  months,  his  witnesses  he  does  not 
produce,  that  man  is  a  liar;  the  penalty  of  that  case  he  shall  himself  bear. 

The  Hebrew  laws  comparable  to  these  are  found  in  Exod.  22  :  1-4, 
9,  and  Lev.  6  :  3-5.  Exodus  directs  (v.  1)  that,  if  a  man  steals  an 
ox  or  a  sheep  and  kills  it  or  sells  it,  he  shall  restore  five  oxen  for  an 
ox  and  four  sheep  for  a  sheep.  In  case  it  is  not  sold  he  shall  restore 
double  (v.  9).  No  highly  organized  courts  appear  in  the  Biblical 
codes.  The  thief  was  brought  before  God  and  his  guilt  determined 
by  some  religious  test.  The  law  of  Leviticus  required  a  man  guilty 
of  theft  to  restore  the  lost  property,  adding  to  it  a  fifth  more,  and 
to  offer  a  ram  in  sacrifice.  (See  Exod.  18  :  13-26.  Cf.  2  Chron. 
19  :  5-7  with  1  Chron.  23  : 4  and  Deut.  16  :  18-20.) 

The  Babylonian  laws  presuppose  a  much  more  highly  organized 
social  community  than  the  Hebrew. 

Against  Stealing  Children  and  Slaves 

§  14.  If  a  man  steals  the  son  of  a  man  who  is  a  minor,  he  shall  be  put  to  death. 

§  15.  If  a  man  causes  a  male  or  female  slave  of  a  palace,  or  the  male  or  female 
slave  of  a  workingman  to  escape  from  the-  city  gate,  he  shall  be  put  to  death. 

§  16.  If  a  man  harbors  in  his  house  either  a  male  or  a  female  slave  who  has 
escaped  from  a  palace  or  from  a  workingman,  and  does  not  bring  him  out  at 
the  summons  of  the  officer,  the  owner  of  that  house  shall  be  put  to  death. 


316 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


§  17.  If  a  man  finds  in  a  field  a  male  or  a  female  slave  who  has  escaped  and 
restores  him  to  his  owner,  the  owner  of  the  slave  shall  pay  him  2  shekels  of  silver. 

§  18.  If  that  slave  will  not  name  his  owner,  he  shall  bring  him  unto  the  palace 
and  they  shall  investigate  his  record  and  restore  him  unto  his  owner. 

§  19.  If  he  shall  detain  that  slave  in  his  house  and  afterward  the  slave  is 
found,  that  man  shall  be  put  to  death. 

§  20.  If  the  slave  escapes  from  the  hand  of  his  captor,  that  man  shall  declare 
it  on  oath  to  the  owner  of  the  slave  and  shall  be  innocent. 

These  laws  are  analogous  to  Exod.  21  :  16  and  Deut.  23  :  15. 
The  former  inflicts  the  death  penalty  for  stealing  a  man  and  selling 
him,  and  the  latter  prohibits  one  in  whose  house  a  fugitive  slave  has 
taken  refuge  from  returning  the  slave  to  his  master.  Slavery  was 
not  in  Israel  such  a  firmly  established  institution  as  in  Babylonia. 
(See  Exod.  21  :  2-6;  Deut.  15  : 12-18;  Lev.  25  :  25-46.) 

Housebreaking  and  Brigandage 

§  21.  If  a  man  breaks  into  a  house,  before  that  breach  he  shall  be  put  to 
death  and  thrown  into  it. 

§  22.  If  a  man  practices  brigandage  and  is  caught,  that  man  shall  be  put  to 
death. 

§  23.  If  the  robber  is  not  caught,  the  man  who  is  robbed  shall  declare  his  loss, 
whatever  it  is,  in  the  presence  of  a  god,  and  the  city  and  governor  in  whose 
territory  and  jurisdiction  the  robbery  was  committed  shall  compensate  him  for 
whatever  was  lost. 

§  24.  If  it  is  a  life,  that  city  and  governor  shall  pay  to  his  relatives  1  mana  of 
silver.1 

Hebrew  law  presents  an  analogy  to  the  last  of  these  sections  in 
Deut.  21  :  1-9,  though  in  Israel  no  compensation  was  offered  to  the 
heirs  of  the  man  who  was  slain,  but  a  sacrifice  was  performed  by  the 
elders  of  the  nearest  city,  to  purge  it  of  innocent  blood. 

Stealing  at  a  Fire 

§  25.  If  a  fire  breaks  out  in  a  man’s  house,  and  a  man  who  has  come  to  ex¬ 
tinguish  it  shall  cast  his  eye  upon  the  furniture  of  the  owner  of  the  house,  and 
the  furniture  of  the  owner  of  the  house  shall  take,  that  man  shall  be  thrown  into 
that  fire. 

The  Duties  and  Privileges  of  Soldiers,  Constables,  and  Tax-collectors 

§  26.  If  a  soldier  or  a  constable2  who  is  ordered  to  go  on  a  journey  for  the 
king  does  not  go,  but  hires  a  substitute  and  dispatches  him  instead,  that  soldier 
or  constable  shall  be  put  to  death;  his  hired  substitute  shall  appropriate  his 
house. 

§  27.  If  a  soldier  or  a  constable  is  detained  in  a  royal  fortress  and  after  him 

1  The  mana  consisted  of  sixty  shekels.  In  English  it  is  corrupted  to  mina. 

2  The  nature  of  these  officials  is  in  doubt.  Scheil  and  others  think  the  first  a  recruiting-officer; 
Delitzsch  and  Ungnad,  a  soldier.  The  name  of  the  second  officer  is  literally  fish-catcher,  but  it  is 
certain  that  here  he  was  some  kind  of  a  fisher  of  men. 


HAMMURAPI  AND  THE  PENTATEUCH 


317 


they  give  his  field  or  garden  to  another  and  he  takes  it  and  carries  it  on,  if  the 
first  one  returns  and  reaches  his  city,  they  shall  restore  to  him  his  field  and 
garden,  and  he  shall  take  it  and  carry  it  on. 

§  28.  If  a  soldier  or  a  constable  who  is  detained  in  a  royal  fortress  has  a  son 
who  is  able  to  carry  on  his  business,  they  shall  give  to  him  his  field  and  garden 
and  he  shall  carry  on  the  business  of  his  father. 

§  29.  If  his  son  is  small  and  not  able  to  carry  on  the  business  of  his  father, 
they  shall  give  one-third  of  his  field  and  garden  to  his  mother  and  she  shall  rear 
him. 

§  30.  If  a  soldier  or  a'constable  from  the  beginning  of  his  appointment  neglects 
his  field,  garden,  and  house  and  leaves  them  uncared  for,  another  after  him  shall 
take  his  field,  garden,  and  house,  and  carry  on  his  business  for  three  years.  If  he 
returns  and  desires  his  field,  garden,  and  house,  they  shall  not  give  them  to  him. 
He  who  has  taken  them  and  carried  on  the  business  shall  carry  it  on. 

§  31.  If  he  leaves  it  uncared  for  but  one  year  and  returns,  they  shall  give  him 
his  field,  garden,  and  house,  and  he  shall  carry  on  his  own  business. 

§  32.  If  a  merchant  ransoms  a  soldier  (?)  or  a  constable  who,  on  a  journey  of 
the  king,  was  detained,  and  brings  him  back,  to  his  city,  if  in  his  house  there  is 
sufficient  ransom,  he  shall  ransom  himself.  If  in  his  house  there  is  not  sufficient 
to  ransom  him,  by  the  temple  of  his  city  he  shall  be  ransomed.  If  in  the  temple 
of  his  city  there  is  not  a  sufficient  ransom,  he  shall  be  ransomed  by  the  palace. 
His  field,  garden,  and  house  shall  not  be  given  for  ransom. 

§  33.  If  a  governor  or  a  magistrate  harbors  a  deserting  soldier  or  accepts  and 
sends  a  hired  substitute  on  an  errand  of  the  king,  that  governor  or  magistrate 
shall  be  put  to»death. 

§  34.  If  a  governor  or  a  magistrate  takes  the  property  of  a  soldier,  plunders  a 
soldier,  or  hires  out  a  soldier,  has  defrauded  a  soldier  in  a  suit  before  a  sheik,  or 
takes  the  present  which  the  king  has  given  to>a  soldier,  that  governor  or  magis¬ 
trate  shall  be  put  to  death. 

§  35.  If  a  man  buys  the  cattle  or  sheep  which  the  king  has  given  to  a  soldier, 
he  shall  forfeit  his  money. 

§  36.  One  shall  not  sell  the  field,  garden,  or  house  of  a  soldier,  constable,  or 
tax-collector. 

§  37.  If  a  man  has  bought  the  field,  garden,  or  house  of  a  soldier,  constable, 
or  tax-collector,  his  tablet  shall  be  broken,  he  shall  forfeit  his  money;  the  field, 
house,  or  garden  shall  return  to  its  owner. 

§  38.  A  soldier,  constable,  or  tax-collector  shall  not  deed  to  his  wife  or  daugh¬ 
ter  the  field,  house,  or  garden,  which  is  his.  perquisite,  nor  shall  he  assign  them 
for  debt. 

§  39.  A  field,  garden,  or  house  which  he  has  purchased  and  possesses  he  may 
deed  to  his  wife  or  daughter,  or  may  assign  for  debt. 

§  40.  A  priestess,  merchant,  or  other  creditor  may  purchase  his  field,  garden, 
or  house.  The  purchaser  shall  conduct  the  business  of  the  field,  garden,  or 
house  which  he  has  purchased. 

§  41.  If  a  man  has  bargained  for  the  field,  garden,  or  house  of  a  soldier,  con¬ 
stable,  or  tax-collector  and  has  given  sureties,  the  soldier,  constable,,  or  tax- 
collector  shall  return  to  the  field,  house,  or  garden,  and  the  sureties  which  were 
given  him  he  shall  keep. 

No  such  officers  as  these  are  mentioned  in  the  laws  of  the  Old 
Testament,  though  some  of  them  appear  in  earlier  times  in  the 
records  of  Babylonia.  The  tax-collectors  mentioned  here  remind  us 
of  Solomon’s  tax-collectors  mentioned  in  1  Kings  4  :  7,  ff. 


318 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Laws  of  Agriculture 

§  42.  If  a  man  rents  a  field  for  cultivation  and  produces  no  grain  in  that  field, 
they  shall  call  him  to  account  for  doing  no  work  in  that  field,  and  he  shall  give 
to  the  owner  of  the  field  grain  similar  to  that  of  adjacent  fields. 

§  43.  If  he  does  not  cultivate  that  field  and  neglects  it,  he  shall  give  the 
owner  of  the  field  grain  similar  to  that  of  adjacent  fields,  and  the  field  which  he 
neglected  he  shall  break  up  with  mattocks,  he  shall  harrow,  and  return  it  to  the 
owner  of  the  field. 

§  44.  If  a  man  rents  an  uncultivated  field  for  three  years  for  improvement 
and  neglects  its  surface  and  does  not  develop  the  field,  in  the  fourth  year  he  shall 
break  up  the  field  with  mattopks,  he  shall  hoe  and  harrow  it,  and  return  it  unto 
the  owner  of  the  field,  and  for  every  Gan  of  land  he  shall  measure  out  10  Gur  of 
grain. 

§  45.  If  a  man  lets  his  field  for  pay  on  shares  to  a  farmer  and  receives  his 
rent,  and  afterward  the  storm-god  inundates  the  field  and  carries  off  the  produce, 
the  loss  is  the  farmer’s. 

§  46.  If  the  rent  of  his  field  he  has  not  received,  and  he  has  let  the  field  for 
one-half  or  one-third  (of  the  crop) ,  the  farmer  and  the  owner  of  the  field  shall 
divide  the  grain  which  is  in  the  field  according  to  agreement. 

§  47.  If  the  farmer,  because  he  has  not  in  a  former  year  received  a  mainte¬ 
nance,  entrusts  the  field  to  another  farmer,  the  owner  of  the  field  shall  not  inter¬ 
fere.  He  would  cultivate  it,  and  his  field  has  been  cultivated.  At  the  time  of 
harvest  he  shall  take  grain  according  to  his  contracts. 

§  48.  If  a  man  has  a  debt  against  him  and  the  storm-god  inundates  his 
field  and  carries  away  the  produce,  or  if  through  lack  of  water  grain  has 
not  grown  in  the  field,  in  that  year  he  shall  not  make  a  return  of  grain 
to  his  creditor;  his  contract  he  shall  change,  and  the  interest  of  that  year  he 
shall  not  pay. 

§  49.  If  a  man  borrows  money  from  a  merchant,  and  has  given  to  the  mer¬ 
chant  a  field  planted  with  grain  or  sesame,  and  says  to  him:  “Cultivate  the  field 
and  harvest  and  take  the  grain  or  sesame  which  it  produces”;  if  the  tenant  pro¬ 
duces  grain  or  sesame  in  the  field,  at  the  time  of  harvest  the  owner  of  the  field 
shall  take  the  grain  or  sesame  which  was  produced  by  the  field,  and  shall  give  to 
the  merchant  grain  for  the  money  which  he  borrowed  from  the  merchant  with 
its  interest,  and  for  the  maintenance  of  the  farmer. 

§  50.  If  the  field  was  already  planted  [with  grain  or]  sesame,  the  owner  of  the 
field  shall  receive  the  grain  or  the  sesame  which  is  produced  in  the  field,  and  the 
money  and  its  interest  he  shall  return  to  the  merchant. 

§  51.  If  there  is  not  money  to  return,  he  shall  give  to  the  merchant  [the 
grain  or]  sesame  for  the  money  and  its  interest  which  he  had  received  from  the 
merchant,  according  to  the  scale  of  prices  fixed  by  the  king. 

§  52.  If  the  farmer  does  not  produce  grain  or  sesame  in  his  field,  he  shall  not 
alter  his  contract. 

§  53.  If  a  man  the  side  of  his  strong  dyke  has  neglected  and  has  not  strength¬ 
ened  it,  and  in  his  dyke  a  break  occurs,  and  the  water  destroys  the  farm-land, 
the  man  in  whose  dyke  the  break  occurred  shall  restore  the  grain  which  was 
destroyed. 

§  54.  If  he  is  not  able  to  restore  the  grain,  they  shall  sell  him  and  his  posses¬ 
sions  for  money,  and  the  owners  of  the  fields  whose  grain  was  destroyed  shall 
share  it. 

§  55.  If  a  man  has  opened  his  sluice  for  watering  and  has  left  it  open  and  the 
water  destroys  the  field  of  his  neighbor,  he  shall  measure  out  grain  to  him  on  the 
basis  of  that  produced  by  neighboring  fields. 


HAMMURAPI  AND  THE  PENTATEUCH 


319 


§  56.  If  a  man  opens  the  water  and  the  water  destroys  the  work1  of  a  neigh¬ 
boring  field,  he  shall  measure  out  10  Gur  of  grain  for  each  Bur  of  land. 

§  57.  •  If  a  shepherd  causes  his  sheep  to  eat  vegetation  and  has  not  made  an 
agreement  with  the  owner  of  the  field,  and  without  the  consent  of  the  owner  of  » 
the  field  has  pastured  his  sheep,  the  owner  of  the  field  shall  harvest  that  field,  and 
the  shepherd  who  without  the  consent  of  the  owner  of  the  field  caused  his  sheep 
to  eat  the  field,  shall  pay  the  owner  of  the  field  in  addition  20  Gur  of  grain  for 
each  Bur  of  land. 

§  58.  If,  after  the  sheep  have  come  up  out  of  the  fields  and  are  turned  loose 
on  the  public  common  by  the  city  gate,  a  shepherd  turns  his  sheep  into  a  field 
and  causes  the  sheep  to  eat  the  field,  the  shepherd  shall  oversee  the  field  which  he 
caused  to  be  eaten,  and  at  harvest-time  he  shall  measure  to  the  owner  of  the 
field  60  Gur  of  grain  for  each  Bur  of  land. 

The  Hebrew  land  laws  are  found  in  Exod.  22  :  5,  6;  23  :  10,  11; 
Lev.  19  :  9,  and  Deut.  24 :  19-22;  23  :  24,  25.  An  examination  of 
these  passages  reveals  a  wide  difference  between  Babylonia  and  Is¬ 
rael.  In  Babylonia  it  seems  to  have  often  been  the  rule  that  a  land¬ 
lord  let  out  the  fields  to  tenants  to  work;  among  the  Hebrews  the 
law  presupposes  that  each  man  shall  work  his  own  land.  Many  of 
the  Babylonian  laws  are  designed  to  secure  the  respective  rights  of 
landlord  and  tenant.  Naturally,  there  is  nothing  in  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment  to  correspond  to  these.  Hebrew  law  (Exod.  22  :  5),  like  the 
Babylonian,  provides  that  one  who  causes  a  neighbor’s  crop  to  be 
eaten  shall  make  restitution,  but  the  regulations  are  of  the  most 
general  character.  In  Babylonia  a  larger  social  experience  had 
made  much  more  specific  regulations  necessary. 

The  characters  of  the  respective  countries  are  reflected  in  the 
dangers  from  which  crops  might  be  threatened.  In  waterless 
Palestine  a  fire  started  by  a  careless  man  might  burn  his  neighbor’s 
crop  (Exod.  22  :  6) ;  in  Babylonia,  where  irrigation  from  canals  was 
conducted  to  fields  lower  than  the  surface  of  the  water,  one  might 
flood  his  neighbor’s  field  and  destroy  his  crop  by  carelessly  leaving 
his  sluice  open. 

The  Hebrew  legislation  presupposes  a  poorer  community.  It 
provides  that  the  land  shall  lie  fallow,  and  whatever  it  produces 
shall  belong  to  the  poor  (Exod.  23  :  10,  11).  At  harvest-time,  too, 
one  must  not  reap  the  corners  of  his  field;  that  was  left  to  the  poor 
(Lev.  19  :  9).  If  one  forgot  a  sheaf  in  his  field,  he  must  not  return 
to  take  it;  that  should  be  left  to  the  poor  (Deut.  24  :  19).  Rich 
Babylonia  made  no  such  provision  for  the  poor;  it  felt  no  such  social 
sympathy. 


1  Such  as  plowing,  or  the  young  plants  early  in  the  season. 


320 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Again,  even  these  agricultural  laws  show  that  commerce  was 
highly  developed  in  Babylonia,  with  its  necessary  concomitant,  the 
right  to  charge  interest  for  money.  The  uncommercial  Hebrews 
regarded  interest  as  unlawful  (Exod.  22  :  25),  and  it  was  Hillel, 
the  contemporary  of  Herod  the  Great,  who  invented  an  interpreta¬ 
tion  known  as  the  Prosbul,  which  practically  did  away  with  this 
law  and  permitted  Jews  to  take  interest. 

Horticultural  Laws 

§  59.  If  a  man  shall  cut  down  a  tree  in  a  man’s  orchard  without  the  consent 
of  the  owner,  he  shall  pay  \  mana  of  silver. 

§  60.  If  a  man  gives  a  field  to  a  gardener  to  plant  as  an  orchard,  the  gardener 
shall  plant  the  orchard  and  cultivate  it  for  4  years.  In  the  fifth  year  the  owner 
of  the  orchard  and  the  gardener  shall  share  it  together.  The  owner  of  the 
orchard  shall  mark  off  his  share  and  take  it. 

§  61.  If  the  gardener  in  planting  does  not  complete  it,  but  leaves  a  part  of  it 
waste,  unto  his  portion  they  shall  count  it. 

§  62.  If  the  field  which  is  given  to  a  gardener  he  does  not  plant,  if  vegetation 
is  the  produce  of  the  field  for  the  years  during  which  it  is  neglected,  the  gardener 
shall  measure  out  to  the  owner  of  the  field  on  the  basis  of  the  adjacent  fields,  and 
shall  perform  the  work  on  the  field  and  restore  it  to  the  owner  of  the  field. 

§  63.  If  the  field  is  [left]  waste  land,  he  shall  perform  the  work  on  the  field 
and  shall  restore  it  to  its  owner,  and  10  Gur  of  grain  for  each  Bur  of  land  he  shall 
measure  out. 

§  64.  If  a  man  lets  his  orchard  to  a  gardener  to  manage,  as  long  as  the  gar¬ 
dener  is  in  possession  of  the  garden  he  shall  give  to  the  owner  of  the  garden  two- 
thirds  of  the  produce;  one- third  he  shall  take  himself. 

§  65.  If  the  gardener  does  not  manage  the  garden  and  diminishes  its  produce, 
the  gardener  shall  measure  out  the  produce  of  the  orchard  on  the  basis  of  ad¬ 
jacent  orchards.1 

§  66.  If  a  man  has  received  money  from  a  merchant,  and  his  merchant  puts 
him  under  bonds  and  he  has  nothing  to  give, 'and  he  gives  his  orchard  for  manage¬ 
ment  unto  the  merchant  and  says:  “The  dates  as  many  as  are  in  my  orchard  take 
for  thy  money,”  that  merchant  shall  not  consent;  the  owner  of  the  orchard  shall 
take  the  dates  that  are  in  the  orchard  and  the  money  and  its  interest  according 
to  the  tenor  of  his  agreement  he  shall  bring  to  the  merchant.  The  remaining 
dates  from  the  orchard  shall  belong  to  the  owner  of  the  orchard. 

As  in  Palestine,  there  was  no  system  of  rental;  the  Bible  contains 
almost  no  horticultural  laws.  “Orchards”  in  Babylonia  were,  as 
the  last  section  shows,  date  orchards.  The  corresponding  fruit  in 
Palestine  was  the  grape.  Hebrew  laws  deal  with  vineyards  as  with 
fields.  If  a  man  destroys  the  crop  in  another’s  vineyard,  he  is  to 
give  the  best  of  his  own  (Exod.  22  :  5).  He  is  to  leave  his  crop 
unpicked  every  seventh  year  for  the  poor  (Exod.  23  :  11).  He  is 
not,  when  he  gathers  it,  to  glean  it  carefully,  but  leave  some  for  the 

1  At  this  point  five  columns  of  the  pillar  are  erased.  It  is  estimated  that  35  sections  of  the  laws 
are  thus  lost.  §  66  is  added  from  a  fragment  found  at  Susa. 


HAMMURAPI  AND  THE  PENTATEUCH 


321 


poor  (Lev.  19  :  10).  When  one  goes  into  his  neighbor’s  vineyard, 
he  may  pick  what  he  wishes  to  eat,  but  must  carry  nothing  away. 
Horticulture  among  the  Hebrews  was  not  so  highly  developed  as  in 
Babylonia. 

Five  columns  of  writing  have  been  erased  after  §  65  from  the 
column  on  which  the  laws  are  written.  This  erasure  was  probably 
made  by  the  Elamite  conqueror,  who  carried  the  column  as  a  trophy 
to  Susa,  in  order  to  inscribe  his  own  name  on  it,  but  unfortunately, 
if  that  was  the  intention,  it  was  never  carried  out.  We  are  accord¬ 
ingly  in  ignorance  of  his  name.  It  is  estimated  that  35  sections  of 
laws  were  thus  lost.  As  already  noted,  one  can  be  supplied  from  a 
fragment  found  at  Susa,  and  from  other  tablets  fragments  of  two  or 
three  other  sections  can  be  made  out.  One  of  these  incomplete 
fragments  refers  to  the  rights  of  tenants  of  houses.  It  reads: 

[If]  a  man  rents  a  house  for  money,  and  pays  the  whole  rent  for  a  year  to  the 
owner  of  the  house,  and  the  owner  of  the  house  orders  that  man  to  vacate 
before  the  expiration  of  his  lease,  the  owner  of  the  house  from  the  money  that  he 
received  shall . 

Unfortunately,  the  tablet  is  broken  and  the  penalty  for  breaking 
the  lease  is  unknown.  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  Babylonian 
tenants  were  protected  from  avaricious  landlords,  even  though 
no  parallel  law  exists  in  the  Old  Testament. 

Two  other  sections  of  laws  that  once  stood  in  this  lacuna  can  now 
be  supplied  from  a  considerably  defaced  tablet  from  Nippur  in  the 
University  Museum  in  Philadelphia,  which  once  contained  a  part  or 
all  of  the  code  of  Hammurapi.  These  sections  are  as  follows: 

A  Bankrupt  Law1 

If  a  man  borrows  grain  or  money  from  a  merchant  and  for  the  payment  has 
no  grain  or  money,  whatever  is  in  his  hand  he  shall  in  the  presence  of  the  elders 
give  to  the  merchant  in  place  of  the  debt;  the  merchant  shall  not  refuse  it;  he 
shall  receive  it. 

A  Partnership  Law2 

If  a  man  gives  money  to  a  man  for  a  partnership,  the  gain  and  profit  that 
accrue  are  before  the  gods;  together  they  shall  do  business. 

The  phrase  “before  the  gods”  means  that  the  division  shall  be 
made  on  oath.  Commercial  life  was  not  sufficiently  developed 

1  Translated  from  Poebel,  Historical  and  Grammatical  Texts,  Philadelphia,  1914,  No.  93,  col.  ii. 

2  Translated  from  ibid.,  col.  iii. 


322 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


among  the  Hebrews  so  that  they  needed  such  a  law,  consequently 
the  Pentateuch  contains  no  parallel  to  this. 

After  the  erasure  of  five  columns  the  laws  have  to  do  with  agents 
or  traveling  salesmen. 


Agents  and  Merchants 

§  100.  [If  an  agent  has  received  money  from  a  merchant,  he  shall  write  down 
the  amount  and  the  amount  of]  the  interest  on  the  money,  and,  when  the  time 
has  expired,  he  shall  repay  the  merchant  as  much  as  he  has  received. 

§  101.  If  where  he  goes  he  does  not  meet  with  success,  the  agent  shall  double 
the  amount  of  the  money  he  received  and  return  it  to  the  merchant. 

§  102.  If  a  merchant  gives  money  to  an  agent  as  a  favor,  and  where  he  goes  he 
meets  with  misfortune,  he  shall  restore  the  principal  unto  the  merchant. 

§  103.  If  on  the  road  as  he  travels  an  enemy  robs  him  of  anything  he  carries, 
the  agent  shall  give  an  account  of  it  under  oath  and  shall  be  innocent. 

§  104.  If  a  merchant  has  given  to  an  agent  grain,  wool,  or  oil,  or  anything 
whatever  to  sell,  the  agent  shall  write  down  the  price  and  shall  return  the  money 
to  the  merchant.  The  agent  shall  take  a  receipt  for  the  money  which  he  gives 
to  the  merchant. 

§  105.  If  the  agent  is  careless  and  does  not  take  a  receipt  for  the  money  he 
gave  the  merchant,  money  not  receipted  for  shall  not  be  placed  to  his  account. 

§  106.  If  an  agent  receives  money  from  a  merchant  and  has  a  dispute  with  his 
merchant  about  it,  that  merchant  shall  put  the  agent  on  trial  on  oath  before  the 
elders  concerning  the  money  he  received  and  the  agent  shall  pay  the  merchant 
three  times  as  much  as  he  received. 

§  107.  If  a  merchant  lends  to  an  agent  and  the  agent  returns  to  the  merchant 
whatever  the  merchant  had  given  him,  if  the  merchant  has  a  dispute  with  him 
about  it,  that  agent  shall  put  the  merchant  on  trial  on  oath  in  the  presence  of  the 
elders,  and  the  merchant,  because  he  had  a  dispute  with  his  agent,  whatever  he 
received  he  shall  give  to  the  agent  six  times  as  much. 


The  Hebrews  of  the  Old  Testament  time  were  not  a  commercial 
people  and  had  no  such  laws.  Men  today  are  inclined  to  think  that 
the  drummer,  or  traveling  salesman,  is  a  modern  invention,  but 
these  laws  show  that  he  was  an  old  institution  in  Babylonia  four 
thousand  years  ago. 


Wine  Merchants 

§  108.  If  a  woman  who  keeps  a  wine-shop  does  not  receive  grain  as  the  price 
of  drink,  but  takes  money  of  greater  value,  or  makes  the  measure  of  drink  smaller 
than  the  measure  of  grain,  that  mistress  of  a  wine-shop  they  shall  put  on  trial  and 
into  the  water  shall  throw  her. 

§  109.  If  the  mistress  of  a  wine-shop  collects  criminals  in  her  house,  and  does 
not  seize  these  criminals  and  conduct  them  to  the  palace,  that  mistress  of  a 
wine-shop  shall  be  put  to  death. 

§  110.  If  the  wife  of  a  god  ( i .  e.,  a  consecrated  temple- woman) ,  who  is  not 
living  in  the  house  appointed,  opens  a  wine-shop  or  enters  a  wine-shop  for  a 
drink,  they  shall  burn  that  woman. 

§  111.  If  the  mistress  of  a  wine-shop  gives  60  Qa  of  sakani- plant  drink  on 
credit  at  the  time  of  harvest,  she  shall  receive  50  Qa  of  grait_ 


HAMMURAPI  AND  THE  PENTATEUCH 


323 


The  Old  Testament  affords  no  parallel.  There  were  no  wine¬ 
shops  in  Israel  so  far  as  we  know,  and  such  consecrated  women  were 
prohibited  by  Deut.  23  : 17. 

Deposits  and  Distraints 

§  1 12.  If  a  man  continually  traveling  has  given  silver,  gold,  precious  stones,  or 
property  to  a  man  and  has  brought  them  to  him  for  transportation,  and  that 
man  does  not  deliver  that  which  was  for  transportation  at  the  place  to  which  it 
was  to  be  transported,  but  has  appropriated  it,  the  owner  of  the  transported 
goods  shall  put  that  man  on  trial  concerning  that  which  was  to  be  transported 
and  was  not  delivered,  and  that  man  shall  deliver  unto  the  owner  of  the  trans¬ 
ported  goods  five  times  as  much  as  was  entrusted  to  him. 

§  113.  If  a  man  has  grain  or  money  deposited  with  a  man  and  without  the 
consent  of  the  owner  he  takes  grain  from  the  heap  or  the  granary,  they  shall 
prosecute  that  man  because  he  took  grain  from  the  heap  or  the  granary  without 
the  consent  of  the  owner,  and  the  grain  as  much  as  he  took  he  shall  return,  and 
whatever  it  was  he  shall  forfeit  an  equal  amount. 

§  1 14.  If  a  man  does  not  have  against  a  man  [a  claim]  for  grain  or  money 
and  secures  a  warrant  against  him  for  debt,  for  each  warrant  he  shall  pay  ^  of  a 
mana  of  money. 

§  115.  If  a  man  holds  against  a  man  [a  claim]  for  grain  or  money  and  secures 
a  warrant  against  him  for  debt  and  the  debtor  dies  through  his  fate  in  the  house 
of  the  creditor,  that  case  has  no  penalty. 

§  116.  If  the  debtor  dies  through  violence  or  lack  of  care,  the  owner  of  the 
debtor  shall  prosecute  the  merchant;  if  it  was  the  son  of  a  man,  his  son  shall  be 
put  to  death;  if  the  slave  of  a  man,  he  shall  pay  f  of  a  mana  of  money,  and  what¬ 
ever  [the  debt]  was,  he  shall  forfeit  as  much. 

Among  the  Hebrews,  as  among  other  ancient  peoples,  the  poor 
at  times  deposited  their  valuables  with  the  more  powerful  for  safe¬ 
keeping.  This  was  natural  before  the  invention  of  banks  and  safe 
deposit  vaults. 

The  Hebrew  law  in  Exod.  22  :  7-10  provides  that  if  goods  are 
given  to  another  man  to  keep  and  are  stolen  out  of  his  house,  the 
thief  should,  if  found,  restore  double  the  amount  taken.  If  the 
thief  was  not  found,  the  owner  of  the  house  should  be  brought 
to  God  (so  American  R.  V.)1,  i.  e.,  to  the  temple,  where  in  some  way 
(probably  by  lot)  it  was  determined  whether  he  was  guilty.  If 
guilty,  the  owner  of  the  house  had  to  restore  twofold. 

Somewhat  parallel  to  the  Babylonian  laws  which  permit  the 
imprisonment  of  a  debtor  in  one’s  house  is  the  Hebrew  law  that  a 
poor  debtor  might  become  a  slave  for  six  years  (Exod.  21  :  2-6; 
Deut.  15  :  7-18).  The  Old  Testament  laws  are  not  quite  uniform. 
In  reality  it  is  only  that  of  Deuteronomy  which  contemplates 
slavery  in  consequence  of  indebtedness;  Exodus  speaks  as  though 

1  The  translation,  “be  brought  to  the  judges,”  has  no  warrant  in  the  Hebrew. 


324 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


the  slave  might  not  be  bought  in  any  way.  The  important  point 
is  that  in  Babylonia  a  man  might  be  imprisoned  for  debt;  in  Israel 
he  might  become  a  temporary  slave. 

As  to  the  deposit  of  valuable  property  with  a  creditor  for  security, 
the  Hebrew  law,  while  it  shows  that  there  were  other  kinds  of 
pledges  (Deut.  24  :  10,  II.) ,  mentions  but  one  kind.  This  was  in 
the  case  of  a  man  so  poor  that  he  had  .to  give  his  outer  garment  as 
security.  The  law  provided  that  this  should  be  returned  to  him  at 
night,  since  the  poor  peasants  had  no  other  blankets  than  these 
garments.  A  hard-hearted  creditor  might,  by  keeping  the  garment 
at  night,  risk  the  life  of  the  debtor  (Exod.  22  : 26,  27;  Deut.  24  : 

11- 13). 

Debts 

§  1 17.  If  a  man  is  subjected  to  an  attachment  for  debt  and  sells  his  wife,  son, 
or  daughter,  or  they  are  given  over  to  service,  for  three  years  they  shall  work  in 
the  house  of  their  purchaser  or  temporary  master;  in  the  fourth  year  they  shall  be 
set  free. 

§  1 18.  If  he  binds  to  service  a  male  or  a  female  slave,  and  the  merchant  trans¬ 
fers  or  sells  him,  he  can  establish  no  claim. 

§  119.  If  a  man  is  subjected  to  an  attachment  for  debt  and  sells  a  maid¬ 
servant  who  has  borne  him  children,  the  owner  of  the  maid-servant  shall  pay 
and  shall  release  his  maid-servant. 

These  laws  are  quite  similar  to  Exod.  21 :  2-11  and.  Deut.  15  : 

12- 18. 

The  main  differences  are  that  the  Hebrew  law  contemplates  that 
a  man  may  enter  slavery  himself;  the  Babylonian  only  that  he  shall 
permit  his  wife,  son,  or  daughter  to  do  it.  The  Hebrews  released 
such  slaves  at  the  end  of  six  years;1  the  Babylonians  at  the  end  of 
three.  Hebrew  law  recognized,  too,  that  a  man  might  sell  his 
daughter  into  slavery  (Exod.  21  :  7-11),  but  it  stipulated  that  her 
treatment  should  be  different  from  that  of  men.  It  recognizes  that 
either  her  master  or  his  son  would  be  likely  to  make  her  a  real  or  a 
secondary  wife.  She  was  not  to  be  released  at  the  end  of  seven 
years,  but  in  case  her  master  did  not  deal  with  her  in  certain  speci¬ 
fied  ways  she  regained  her  freedom  regardless  of  her  period  of 
service. 

Storage  of  Grain 

§  120.  If  a  man  has  stored  his  grain  in  heaps  in  the  building  of  another  and  an 
accident  happens  in  the  granary,  or  the  owner  of  the  building  has  disturbed  the 

1  Since  Deut.  15  :  18  says  that  such  a  slave  has  served  “double  the  hire  of  a  hireling,”  Dr.  Johns 
thinks  that  it  betrays  a  knowledge  of  the  Babylonian  three-year  regulation.  This  seems,  however, 
quite  problematical. 


HAMMURAPI  AND  THE  PENTATEUCH 


325 


heap  and  taken  grain,  or  has  disputed  the  amount  of  grain  that  was  stored  in  his 
building,  the  owner  of  the  grain  shall  give  an  account  of  his  grain  under  oath,  the 
owner  of  the  building  shall  double  the  amount  of  grain  which  he  took  and 
restore  it  to  the  owner  of  the  grain. 

§  121.  If  a  man  stores  grain  in  a  man’s  building,  he  shall  pay  each  year  5  Qa 
of  grain  for  each  Gur  of  grain. 


These  laws  have  no  Biblical  parallel. 


Deposits  and  Losses 

§  122.  If  a  man  gives  to  another  on  deposit  silver  or  gold  or  anything  what¬ 
ever,  anything  as  much  as  he  deposits  he  shall  recount  to  witnesses  and  shall 
institute  contracts  and  make  the  deposit. 

§  123.  If  without  witnesses  and  contracts  he  has  placed  anything  on  deposit 
and  at  the  place  of  deposit  they  dispute  it,  that  case  has  no  penalty. 

§  124.  If  a  man  gives  to  another  on  deposit  silver  or  gold  or  anything  what¬ 
ever  in  the  presence  of  witnesses  and  he  disputes  it,  he  shall  prosecute  that  man 
and  he  shall  double  whatever  he  disputed  and  shall  repay  it. 

§  125.  If  a  man  places  anything  on  deposit  and  at  the  place  of  deposit  either 
through  burglary  or  pillage  anything  of  his  is  lost,  together  with  anything  be¬ 
longing  to  the  owner  of  the  building,  the  owner  of  the  building  who  was  negligent 
and  lost  what  was  given  him  on  deposit  shall  make  it  good  and  restore  it  to  the 
owner  of  the  goods.  The  owner  of  the  house  shall  institute  a  search  for  what¬ 
ever  was  lost  and  take  it  from  the  thief. 

§  126.  If  a  man  has  not  lost  anything,  but  says  he  has  lost  something,  or  files 
a  claim  as  though  he  had  lost  something,  he  shall  give  account  of  his  claim  on 
oath,  and  whatever  he  brought  suit  for  he  shall  double  and  shall  give  for  his 
claim. 

There  is  no  mention  in  the  laws  of  the  Old  Testament  of  this 
kind  of  deposit,  though,  as  already  noted,  it  probably  was  some¬ 
times  practised. 

Against  Slandering  Women 

§  127.  If  a  man  causes  the  finger  to  be  pointed  at  the  woman  of  a  god  or  the 
wife  of  a  man  and  cannot  prove  it,  they  shall  bring  him  before  the  judges  and  they 
shall  brand  his  forehead. 

The  nearest  parallel  to  this  in  the  Old  Testament  is  in  Deut. 
22  :  13-21,  which  is  really  quite  a  different  law,  for  it  applies  only 
to  cases  where  men,  when  just  married,  slander  their  wives  by 
charging  them  with  previous  impurity.  The  Hebrew  law  provides 
a  method  of  trial,  a  punishment  for  the  man,  if  guilty,  and  a  much 
severer  one  for  the  woman,  if  the  charge  is  true.  The  two  codes 
belong  to  quite  a  different  legal  development,  as  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  the  Babylonian  law  refers  to  “a  woman  of  a  god,”  i.  e.,  one 
of  the  temple- women  who,  under  certain  religious  rules,  repre¬ 
sented  in  a  concrete  way  the  procreative  power  of  the  god. 


326 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


This  code  recognizes  several  classes  of  these,  as  will  appear  later, 
but  Hebrew  law  forbade  the  existence  of  such  women  in  Israel 
(Deut.  23  :  17). 

Chastity,  Marriage,  and  Divorce 

§  128.  If  a  man  takes  a  wife  and  does  not  execute  contracts  for  her,  that 
woman  is  no  wife. 

§  129.  If  the  wife  of  a  man  is  caught  lying  with  another  man,  they  shall  bind 
them  and  throw  them  into  the  water.  If  the  husband  of  the  woman  would  let 
her  live,  or  the  king  would  let  his  subject  live,  he  may  do  so. 

§  130.  If  a  man  forces  the  betrothed  wife  of  another  who  is  living  in  her 
father’s  house  and  has  not  known  a  man,  and  lies  in  her  loins  and  they  catch 
him,  that  man  shall  be  put  to  death  and  that  woman  shall  go  free. 

§  131.  If  the  wife  of  a  man  is  accused  by  her  husband,  and  she  has  not  been 
caught  lying  with  another  man,  she  shall  swear  her  innocence  and  return  to  her 
house. 

§  132.  If  the  finger  has  been  pointed  at  the  wife  of  a  man  because  of  another 
man  and  she  has  not  been  caught  lying  with  the  other  man,  for  her  husband’s 
sake  she  shall  plunge  into  the  sacred  river. 

§  133.  If  a  man  is  taken  captive  and  there  is  food  in  his  house,  his  wife  shall 
not  go  out  from  his  house,  her  body  she  shall  guard,  into  the  house  of  another  she 
shall  not  enter.  If  that  woman  does  not  guard  her  body  and  enters  into  the 
house  of  another,  that  woman  they  shall  prosecute  and  throw  her  into  the  water. 

§  134.  If  a  man  is  taken  captive  and  in  his  house  there  is  no  food,  and  his 
wife  enters  into  the  house  of  another,  that  woman  is  not  to  blame. 

§  135.  If  a  man  is  taken  captive  and  there  is  no  food  in  his  house  and  his 
wife  has  openly  entered  into  the  house  of  another  and  borne  children,  and 
afterwards  her  husband  returns  and  reaches  his  city,  that  woman  shall  return 
to  her  husband  and  the  children  shall  follow  their  father. 

§  136.  If  a  man  deserts  his  city  and  flees  and  after  it  his  wife  enters  into  the 
house  of  another,  if  that  man  returns  and  would  take  his  wife,  because  he  de¬ 
serted  his  city  and  fled,  the  wife  of  the  fugitive  shall  not  return  to  the  house  of 
her  husband. 

§  137.  If  a  man  sets  his  face  against  a  concubine  who  has  borne  him  children 
or  a  wife  that  has  presented  him  with  children,  to  put  her  away,  he  shall  return 
to  that  woman  her  marriage  portion,  and  shall  give  her  the  income  of  field,  gar¬ 
den,  and  house,  and  she  shall  bring  up  her  children.  From  the  time  that  her 
children  are  grown,  from  whatever  is  given  to  her  children,  a  portion  like  that  of 
a  son  shall  be  given  to  her,  and  the  husband  of  her  choice  she  may  marry. 

§  138.  If  a  man  would  put  away  his  spouse  who  has  not  borne  him  children, 
he  shall  give  her  silver  equal  to  her  marriage  gift,  and  the  dowry  which  she 
brought  from  her  father’s  house  he  shall  restore  to  her  and  may  put  her  away. 

§  139.  If  she  had  no  dowry,  he  shall  give  her  one  mana  of  silver  for  a  divorce. 

§  140.  If  he  belongs  to  the  laboring  class,  he  shall  give  her  one-third  of  a 
mana  of  silver. 

§  141.  If  the  wife  of  a  man  who  is  living  in  the  house  of  her  husband  sets  her 
face  to  go  out  and  act  the  fool,  her  house  neglects  and  her  husband  belittles,  they 
shall  prosecute  that  woman.  If  her  husband  says:  “I  divorce  her,”  he  may 
divorce  her.  On  her  departure  nothing  shall  be  given  her  for  her  divorce.  If 
her  husband  does  not  say:  “I  divorce  her,”  her  husband  may  take  another  wife; 
that  woman  shall  dwell  as  a  slave  in  the  house  of  her  husband. 

§  142.  If  a  woman  hates  her  husband  and  says:  “Thou  shalt  not  hold  me,” 
they  shall  make  investigation  concerning  her  into  her  defects.  If  she  has  been, 
discreet  and  there  is  no  fault,  and  her  husband  has  gone  out  and  greatly  be- 


HAMMURAPI  AND  THE  PENTATEUCH 


327 


littled  her,  that  woman  has  no  blame;  she  may  take  her  marriage-portion  and  go 
to  her  father’s  house. 

§  143.  If  she  has  not  been  discreet,  and  has  gone  out  and  neglected  her  house 
and  belittled  her  husband,  they  shall  throw  that  woman  into  the  water. 

§  144.  If  a  man  takes  a  priestess  and  that  priestess  gives  a  female  slave  to 
her  husband,  and  she  has  children;  if  that  man  sets  his  face  to  take  a  concubine, 
they  shall  not  favor  that  man.  He  may  not  take  a  concubine. 

§  145.  If  a  man  takes  a  priestess  and  she  does  not  present  him  with 
children  and  he  sets  his  face  to  take  a  concubine,  that  man  may  take  a 
concubine  and  bring  her  into  his  house.  That  concubine  shall  not  rank  with 
the  wife. 

§  146.  If  a  man  takes  a  priestess  and  she  gives  to  her  husband  a  maid-servant 
and  she  bears  children,  and  afterward  that  maid-servant  would  take  rank  with 
her  mistress;  because  she  has  borne  children  her  mistress  may  not  sell  her  for 
mone^,  but  she  may  reduce  her  to  bondage  and  count  her  among  the  female 
slaves. 

§  147.  If  she  has  not  borne  children,  her  mistress  may  sell  her  for  money. 

§  148.  If  a  man  takes  a  wife  and  she  is  attacked  by  disease,  and  he  sets  his 
face  to  take  another,  he  may  do  it.  His  wife  who  was  attacked  by  disease  he 
may  not  divorce.  She  shall  live  in  the  house  he  has  built  and  he  shall  support 
her  as  long  as  she  lives. 

§  149.  If  that  woman  does  not  choose  to  live  in  the  house  of  her  husband,  he 
shall  make  good  to  her  the  dowry  which  she  brought  from  her  father’s  house 
and  she  may  go  away. 

§  150.  If  a  man  presents  his  wife  with  field,  garden,  house,  or  goods,  and  gives 
to  her  sealed  deeds,  after  her  husband’s  death  her  children  shall  not  press  a 
claim  against  her.  The  mother  after  her  death  may  leave  it  to  her>child  whom 
she  loves,  but  to  a  brother  she  may  not  leave  it. 

§  151.  If  a  wife  who  is  living  in  the  house  of  a  husband  has  persuaded  her 
husband  and  he  has  bound  himself  that  she  shall  not  be  taken  by  a  creditor  of 
her  husband;  if  that  man  had  a  debt  against  him  before  he  took  that  woman,  the 
creditor  may  not  hold  that  woman,  and  if  that  woman  had  a  debt  against  her 
before  she  entered  the  house  of  her  husband,  her  creditor  may  not  hold  her 
husband. 

§  152.  If  they  become  indebted  after  the  woman  enters  the  man’s  house, 
both  of  them  are  liable  to  the  merchant. 

§  153.  If  a  woman  causes  the  death  of  her  husband  on  account  of  another 
man,  that  woman  they  shall  impale. 

§  154.  If  a  man  has  known  his  daughter,  the  city  shall  drive  out  that  man. 

§  153.  If  a  man  has  betrothed  a  bride  to  his  son  and  his  son  has  known  her 
and  he  afterward  lies  in  her  loins  and  they  catch  him,  they  shall  bind  that  man 
and  throw  him  into  the  water. 

§  156.  If  a  man  has  betrothed  a  bride  to  his  son  and  his  son  has  not  known 
her  and  he  lies  in  her  loins,  he  shall  pay  her  half  a  mana  of  silver  and  restore  to 
her  whatever  she  brought  from  the  house  of  her  father,  and  the  man  of  her 
choice  may  marry  her. 

§  157.  If  a  man  after  his  father’s  death  lies  in  the  loins  of  his  mother,  they 
shall  burn  both  of  them. 

§  158.  If  a  man  after  his  father’s  death  is  admitted  to  the  loins  of  his  chief 
wife  who  has  borne  children,  that  man  shall  be  expelled  from  the  house  of  bis 
father. 

§  159.  If  a  man  who  has  brought  a  present  unto  the  house  of  his  father-in-law 
and  has  given  a  bride-price  looks  with  longing  upon  another  woman,  and  says 
to  his  father-in-law:  “Thy  daughter  I  will  not  take,”  the  father  of  the  daughter 
shall  keep  whatever  was  brought  to  him. 


328 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


§  160.  If  a  man  brings  a  present  to  the  house  of  a  father-in-law  and  gives  a 
bride-price,  and  the  father  of  the  daughter  says:  “I  will  not  give  thee  my 
daughter,”  whatever  was  brought  him  he  shall  double  and  restore  it. 

§  161.  If  a  man  brings  a  present  to  the  house  of  his  father-in-law  and  gives 
a  bride-price,  and  his  neighbor  slanders  him,  and  the  father  says  to  the  groom: 
“Thou  shalt  not  take  my  daughter,”  whatever  was  brought  he  shall  double 
and  restore  to  him. 

These  Babylonian  laws  present  numerous  points  of  contact  and 
of  divergence,  when  compared  with  the  Biblical  laws  on  the  same 
subject.  There  is  no  Biblical  parallel  to  §  128.  The  law  (§  129) 
which  imposes  the  death  penalty  upon  a  man  who  commits  adultery 
with  another  man’s  wife  and  upon  the  woman,  finds  an  exact  parallel 
in  Lev.  20  :  10  and  Deut.  22  :  22,  though  the  Biblical  law,  unlike 
the  Babylonian,  provides  no  way  in  which  clemency  could  be  ex¬ 
tended  to  the  offenders. 

The  laws  in  §§  130,  156,  concerning  the  violation  of  betrothed 
virgins,  are  in  a  general  way  paralleled  by  Lev.  19  :  20-22  and 
Deut.  22  :  23-26,  though  there  are  such  differences  that,  while  the 
underlying  principles  are  the  same,  it  is  clear  that  there  was  entire 
independence  of  development.  A  religious  element  enters  into 
Leviticus  that  is  entirely  absent  from  the  Babylonian  code.  The 
Bible  contains  two  laws  on  this  subject  that  are  without  parallel  in 
the  Babylonian  code.  These  are  found  in  Exod.  22  :  16,  17  and 
Deut.  22  :  28,  29,  and  impose  penalties  for  the  violation  of  virgins 
who  were  not  betrothed.  In  both  codes  the  principle  is  manifest 
that  the  loss  of  a  girl’s  honor  was  to  be  compensated  by  money, 
though  Deut.  22  :  28,  29  recognizes  that  it  has  a  value  that  money 
cannot  buy. 

The  laws  relating  to  a  wife  whose  fidelity  is  suspected  (§§  131, 
132)  find  a  general  parallel  in  Num.  5  : 11-28.  The  provision  at 
the  end  of  §  132  that  the  wife  should  plunge  into  the  sacred  river 
is  in  the  nature  of  trial  by  ordeal.  The  law  in  Numbers  imposes 
on  such  a  woman  trial  by  ordeal,  though  it  is  of  a  different  sort. 
She  must  drink  water  in  which  dust  from  the  floor  of  the  sanctuary 
is  mingled — dust  surcharged  with  divine  potency — and  if  she  does 
not  swell  up  and  die,  she  is  counted  innocent. 

The  laws  which  provide  that  a  wife  may  present  her  husband 
with  a  slave-girl  as  a  concubine  (§§  137, 144-147)  are  without  paral¬ 
lel  in  the  Biblical  codes,  but  are  strikingly  illustrated  by  the  patri¬ 
archal  narratives.  Sarah  gave  Hagar  to  Abraham  (Gen.  16); 
Rachel  and  Leah  gave  Bilhah  and  Zilpah  to  Jacob  (Gen.  30  : 1-13). 


HAMMURAPI  AND  THE  PENTATEUCPI 


329 


The  law  (§  146)  which  deals  with  such  a  slave-girl  who  would  rank 
with  her  mistress  is  closely  parallel  to  the  story  of  the  treatment  of 
Hagar  in  Gen.  16  :  5-7  and  21  :  9,  10. 

The  laws  on  divorce  (§§  138-141)  are  really  in  advance  of  the  one 
Biblical  law  on  the  subject  (Deut.  24  :  1-4).  The  law  in  Deuter¬ 
onomy  permits  a  husband  to  put  away  a  wife,  who  in  any  way 
does  not  please  him,  without  alimony,  while  to  the  wife  no  privilege 
of  initiating  divorce  proceedings  is  granted  at  all.  The  Babylonian 
laws  secure  to  the  divorced  woman  a  maintenance,  and,  while  by 
no  means  according  her  equal  rights  with  the  man,  provide  (§  142) 
that  she  may  herself  initiate  the  proceedings  for  divorce.  The  or¬ 
deal  must  have  been  an  unpleasant  one,  but  in  Israel’s  law  a  woman 
had  no  such  rights.1 

The  law  concerning  adultery  with  a  daughter-in-law  (§  155)  is 
identical  in  purpose  and  severity  with  Lev.  20  :  12.  The  laws  in 
§§  157,  158,  which  prohibit  immorality  with  one’s  mother  or  the 
chief  wife  of  one’s  father,  just  touch  upon  the  great  subject  of 
incest  and  the  prohibited  degrees  of  marriage  which  are  treated  at 
considerable  length  in  Lev.  18  :  6-18;  20  :  11,  19-21,  and  Deut. 
22  :  30.  The  Babylonian  laws  touch  but  two  specific  cases,  which 
may  be  said  to  be  covered  by  Deut.  22  : 30,  while  the  laws  of 
Leviticus  treat  the  whole  subject  of  the  prohibited  degrees  of  mar¬ 
riage  in  a  broad  and  comprehensive  way.  The  main  idea  pervading 
Leviticus  is  holiness.  Israel  is  to  be  kept  free  from  the  pollution 
of  incest  in  any  form.  The  religious  motive  exhibited  here  is 
foreign  to  the  Babylonian  code. 

Inheritance 

§  162.  It  a  man  takes  a  wife  and  she  bears  him  children  and  that  woman 
dies,  her  father  may  not  lay  claim  to  her  dowry.  Her  dowry  belongs  to  her 
children. 

§  163.  If  a  man  takes  a  wife  and  she  does  not  present  him  with  children  and 
that  woman  dies;  if  his  father-in-law  returns  unto  him  the  marriage-settlement, 
which  that  man  brought  to  the  house  of  the  father-in-law,  unto  the  dowry  of  that 
woman  her  husband  may  not  lay  claim.  Her  dowry  belongs  to  the  house  of  her 
father. 

§  164.  But  if  his  father-in-law  does  not  return  the  marriage-settlement  unto 
him,  he  shall  deduct  from  her  dowry  the  amount  of  the  marriage-settlement,  and 
then  return  the  dowry  to  the  house  of  her  father. 

1  In  a  marriage  contract  on  a  papyrus  from  the  Jewish  colony  at  Elephantine  in  Egypt, 
written  in  the  fifth  century  b.  c.,  it  is  provided  that  the  wife  may  institute  divorce  proceed¬ 
ings  on  an  equality  with  the  husband.  Some  Jewish  women  thus  secured  by  contract  that 
which  the  law  did  not  grant  them.  Christ  assumed  such  cases  among  Palestinian  women;  see 
Mark  10 :  12. 


330 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


§  165.  If  a  man  has  presented  to  his  son,  the  first  in  his  eyes,  field,  garden, 
or  house,  and  written  for  him  a  sealed  deed,  and  afterward  the  father  dies; 
when  the  brothers  divide,  he  shall  take  the  present  which  his  father  gave 
him,  and  over  and  above  they  shall  divide  the  goods  of  the  father’s  house 
equally. 

§  166.  If  a  man  takes  wives  for  the  sons  which  he  possesses,  but  has  not  taken 
a  wife  for  his  youngest  son,  and  afterward  the  father  dies;  when  the  brothers 
divide,  for  their  younger  brother  who  does  not  have  a  wife  they  shall  present 
over  and  above  his  portion  money  for  a  marriage-settlement,  and  shall  enable 
him  to  take  a  wife. 

§  167.  If  a  man  takes  a  wife  and  she  bears  him  children  and  that  woman 
dies,  and  after  her  he  takes  a  second  and  she  bears  him  children,  after  the  father 
dies,  the  children  shall  not  share  according  to  their  mothers.  They  shall  receive 
the  dowries  of  their  respective  mothers,  and  the  goods  of  their  father’s  house  they 
shall  share  equally. 

§  168.  If  a  man  has  set  his  face  to  cut  off  his  son,  and  says  to  the  judges:  “I 
will  cut  off  my  son,”  the  judges  shall  make  investigation  concerning  him;  if 
the  son  has  not  committed  a  grave  crime  which  cuts  off  from  sonship,  the  father 
may  not  cut  off  his  son  from  sonship. 

§  169.  If  he  has  committed  against  his  father  a  grave  crime  which  cuts  off 
from  sonship,  he  shall  pardon  him  for  the  first  offense.  If  he  commits  a  grave 
crime  the  second  time,  the  father  may  cut  off  his  son  from  sonship. 

§  170.  If  a  man’s  wife  bears  him  children  and  a  slave-girl  bears  him  children, 
and  the  father  during  his  lifetime  says  to  the  children  which  the  slave-girl  bore 
him:  “My  children,”  and  counts  them  with  the  children  of  the  wife,  after  the 
father  dies  the  children  of  the  wife  and  the  children  of  the  slave-girl  shall  divide 
equally  the  goods  of  their  father’s  house.  The  sons  that  are  sons  of  the  wife 
shall  at  the  sharing  divide  and  take. 

§  171.  But  if  the  father  during  his  lifetime  has  not  said  unto  the  children 
which  the  slave-girl  bore  him:  “My  children,”  after  the  father  dies  the  children 
of  the  slave-girl  shall  not  share  with  the  children  of  the  wife.  The  slave-girl 
and  her  children  shall  be  given  their  freedom;  the  children  of  the  wife  may  not 
put  a  claim  upon  the  children  of  the  slave-girl  for  service.  The  wife  shall 
receive  her  dowry  and  a  gift  which  her  husband  gave  her  and  wrote  upon  a  tablet 
and  may  dwell  in  the  dwelling  of  her  husband  as  long  as  she  lives  and  eat.  She 
may  not  sell  it.  After  her  it  belongs  to  her  children. 

§  172.  If  her  husband  has  not  given  her  a  gift,  they  shall  restore  to  her  her 
dowry  and  she  shall  receive  from  the  goods  of  the  house  of  her  husband  the 
portion  of  one  son.  If  the  children  abuse  her  in  order  to  drive  her  from  the 
house,  the  judges  shall  investigate  concerning  her  and  if  they  find  the  children 
in  the  wrong,  that  woman  shall  not  go  from  the  house  of  her  husband.  If  that 
woman  sets  her  face  to  go  out,  she  shall  leave  with  her  children  the  gift  which  her 
husband  gave  her;  the  dowry  from  the  house  of  her  father  she  shall  receive  and 
the  husband  of  her  choice  may  take  her. 

§  173.  If  that  woman,  where  she  has  entered,  bears  children  to  her  later 
husband,  after  that  woman  dies  the  children  of  her  first  and  her  later  husband 
shall  share  her  dowry. 

§  174.  If  she  did  not  bear  children  to  her  later  husband,  the  children  of  her 
first  husband  shall  receive  her  dowry. 

§  175.  If  a  slave  of  the  palace  or  the  slave  of  a  workingman  takes  the  daughter 
of  a  patrician  and  she  bears  children,  the  owner  of  the  slave  shall  have  no  claim 
for  service  on  the  children  of  the  daughter  of  a  patrician. 

§  176.  But  if  a  slave  of  the  palace  or  the  slave  of  a  workingman  takes  the 
daughter  of  a  patrician,  and  when  he  takes  her  she  enters  together  with  the 
dowry  from  her  father’s  house  into  the  house  of  the  slave  of  the  palace  or  the 


HAMMURAPI  AND  THE  PENTATEUCH 


331 


slave  of  the  workingman;  if  after  they  are  united  they  build  a  house  and  acquire 
property  and  afterward  the  slave  of  the  paface  or  the  slave  of  the  workingman 
dies,  the  daughter  of  the  patrician  shall  receive  her  dowry  and  they  shall  divide 
into  two  parts  whatever  her  husband  and  herself  had  acquired  after  their  union. 
Half  the  owner  of  the  slave  shall  take,  and  the  daughter  of  the  patrician  shall 
receive  half  for  her  children.  If  the  daughter  of  the  patrician  had  no  dowry, 
whatever  her  husband  and  herself  had  acquired  after  their  union  they  shall 
divide  into  two  parts.  The  owner  of  the  slave  shall  take  half  and  the  daughter 
of  the  patrician  shall  receive  half  for  her  children. 

§  177.  If  a  widow  whose  children  are  minors  sets  her  face  to  enter  the  house 
of  a  second  husband,  she  shall  not  do  it  without  the  consent  of  the  judges.  When 
she  enters  the  house  of  a  second  husband,  the  judges  shall  inquire  into  the  estate 
of  her  former  husband,  and  the  estate  of  the  former  husband  they  shall  entrust 
to  the  second  husband  and  to  that  woman,  and  shall  cause  them  to  leave  a  tablet 
(receipt).  The  estate  they  shall  guard  and  rear  the  minors.  The  household 
goods  they  may  not  sell.  The  purchaser  of  household  goods  belonging  to  the 
children  of  a  widow  shall  forfeit  his  money.  The  goods  shall  revert  to  their 
owners. 

§  178.  If  there  is  a  wife  of  a  god,  priestess,  or  sacred  harlot,  whose  father  has 
given  her  a  dowry  and  written  her  a  record  of  gift,  and  in  the  record  of  gift  he 
has  not  written,  “after  her  she  may  give  it  to  whomsoever  she  pleases,”  and  has 
not  given  her  full  discretion;  after  her  father  dies  her  brothers  shall  take  her 
field  and  garden,  and  according  to  the  value  of  her  share  they  shall  give  her  grain, 
oil,  and  wool,  .and  shall  content  her  heart.  If  her  brothers  shall  not  give  her 
grain,  oil,  and  wool,  according  to  the  value  of  her  share,  and  shall  not  content 
her  heart,  she  may  let  her  field  and  garden  unto  any  tenant  she  pleases  and  her 
tenant  shall  maintain  her.  Her  field,  garden,  or  whatever  her  father  gave  her 
she  may  enjoy  as  long  as  she  lives.  She  may  not  sell  it  for  money  or  transfer  it 
to  another.  Her  heritage  belongs  to  her  brothers. 

§  179.  If  there  is  a  wife  of  a  god,  priestess,  or  sacred  harlot,  whose  father 
has  given  her  a  dowry  and  written  a  record  of  gift;  and  in  the  record  of  gift  he 
has  written,  “after  her  she  may  give  it  to  whomsoever  she  pleases,”  and  has 
granted  ,her  full  discretion;  after  her  father  dies  she1  may  give  it  after  her  to 
whomsoever  she  pleases.  Her  brothers  have  novclaim  upon  her. 

§  180.  If  a  father  does  not  give  a  dowry  to  his  daughter,  a  priestess  living  in 
the  appointed  house,  or  a  sacred  harlot,  after  the  father  dies  she  shall  receive 
from  the^goods  of  her  father’s  house  the  same  share  as  one  son,  and  as  long  as  she 
lives  she  shall  enjoy  it.  After  her  it  belongs  to  her  brothers. 

§  181.  If  the  father  of  a  priestess,  sacred  harlot,  or  temple  maiden  gives  her 
to  a  god  and  does  not  give  her  a  dowry,  after  the  father  dies  she  shall  receive 
from  the  goods  of  her  father’s  house  a  third  of  the  portion  of  a  son  and  shall  en¬ 
joy  it  as  long  as  she  lives.  After  her  it  belongs  to  her  brothers. 

§  182.  If  a  father  does  not  give  a  dowry  to  his  daughter,  a  priestess  of  Marduk 
of  Babylon,  and  does  not  write  a  record  of  gift  for’her;  after  her  father  dies  she 
shall  receive  from  the  goods  of  her  father’s  house  one-third  of  the  portion  of  a 
son,  and  shall  pay  no  tax.  A  priestess  of  Marduk  after  her  death  may  leave  it  to 
whomsoever  she  pleases. 

§  183.  If  a  father  presents  a  dowry  to  his  daughter  who  is  a  concubine,  and 
gives  her  to  a  husband  and  writes  a  record  of  gift;  after  the  father  dies  she  shall 
not  share  in  the  goods  of  her  father’s  house. 

§  184.  If  a  father  does  not  present  a  dowry  to  his  daughter  who  is  a  concu¬ 
bine  and  does  not  give  her  to  a  husband;  after  her  father’s  death  her  brothers 
shall  give  her  a  dowry  according  to  the  value  of  the  father’s  estate  and  shall  give 
her  to  a  husband. 


332 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


In  comparison  with  these  Babylonian  laws  of  inheritance  those 
in  the  Old  Testament  are  comparatively  simple.  We  learn  from 
Deut.  21  :  15-17,  that  a  man’s  firstborn  son  received  a  “double 
portion”  of  his  father’s  estate,  i.  e.,  twice  as  much  as  any  other  son. 
The  inference  is  that  the«other  sons  shared  equally.  This  law  also 
provides  that,  when  a  man  has  two  wives,  the  sons  of  the  favorite 
wife  shall  have  no  advantage  as  to  inheritance  over  the  sons  of  the 
less  loved  wife.  In  Num.  27  :  8-11  it  is  provided  that  if  a  man  has 
no  son,  his  estate  ( i .  e.,  real  estate)  may  go  to  his  daughter;  if  he 
has  no  daughter,  it  may  go  to  his  brothers;  if  no  brothers,  it  goes  to 
his  father’s  brothers.  If  his  father  has  no  brothers,  the  estate 
is  to  go  to  the  next  of  kin.  In  Num.  36  :  2-12  the  law  that  a 
daughter  may  inherit  her  father’s  estate  is  supplemented  by  the 
provision  that  such  a  daughter  must  marry  within  the  tribe,  so 
that  the  landed  property  may  not  in  the  next  generation  pass  out 
of  the  tribe. 

Such  were  the  Hebrew  laws  of  inheritance.  They  apply  to  a 
much  less  complexly  organized  society  than  the  Babylonian. 

§§  168,  169  of  Hammurapi’s  code  deal  with  the  cutting  off  of  a 
son.  This  is  paralleled  in  Deut.  21  :  18-21,  though  punishment 
inflicted  by  the  law  in  Deuteronomy  is  quite  different  from  the 
Babylonian,  since  the  Hebrew  boy,  whose  parents  have  proved  him 
before  the  elders  to  be  unworthy  of  sonship,  was  not  cast  out  and 
sent  away,  but  stoned  to  death.  Another  form  of  this  law  appears 
in  Exod.  21  : 17. 

Adoption 

§  185.  If  a  man  takes  a  young  child  in  his  name  unto  sonship  *and  brings 
him  up,  one  may  not  bring  a  claim  for  that  adopted  son. 

§  186.  If  a  man  takes  a  young  child  unto  sonship,  and  when  he  has  taken  him 
he  rebels  against  his  [adopted]  father  and  mother,  that  foster-child  shall  return 
to  his  father’s  house. 

§  187.  One  may  not  bring  claim  for  the  son  of  a  temple-servant,  a  palace 
guard,  or  of  a  sacred  harlot. 

§  188.  If  an  artisan  takes  a  son  to  sonship  and  teaches  him  his  handicraft,  one 
may  not  bring  claim  for  him. 

§  189.  If  he  does  not  teach  him  his  handicraft,  that  foster-son  may  return  to 
the  house  of  his  father. 

§  190.  If  a  man  does  not  count  among  his  sons  a  young  child  whom  he  has 
taken  to  sonship  and  reared,  that  foster-child  may  return  to  his  father’s  house. 

§  191.  If  a  man  who  takes  a  young  child  to  sonship  and  rears  him  and  estab¬ 
lishes  a  house  and  acquires  children,  afterward  sets  his  face  to  cut  off  that  foster- 
son,  that  son  shall  not  go  his  way.  The  father  who  reared  him  shall  give  him 
from  his  goods  one- third  the  share  of  a  son  and  he  shall  go.  From  field,  garden, 
or  house,  he  shall  not  give  him. 


HAMMURAPI  AND  THE  PENTATEUCH 


333 


In  the  codes  of  the  Old  Testament  there  are  no  laws  of  adoption. 
The  story  of  the  adoption  of  Ephraim  and  Manasseh  by  Jacob  in 
Gen.  48  shows  that  the  idea  was  not  unknown  to  the  Hebrews, 
among  whom  the  ceremony  of  adoption  would  seem  to  have  con¬ 
sisted  of  the  act  of  acknowledging  the  children  as  one’s  own  by 
placing  one’s  hands  on  their  heads  and  giving  them  a  paternal 
blessing. 

Renunciation  of  Sonship 

§  192.  If  the  son  of  a  temple-servant  or  the  son  of  a  sacred  harlot  says  to  the 
father  that  brought  him  up  or  to  the  mother  that  brought  him  up,  “Thou  art  not 
my  father,”  or,  “Thou  art  not  my  mother,”  they  shall  cut  out  his  tongue. 

§  193.  If  the  son  of  a  temple-servant  or  the  son  of  a  sacred  harlot  has  identi¬ 
fied  his  father’s  house  and  hated  the  father  who  brought  him  up  or  the  mother 
who  brought  him  up  and  goes  back  to  his  father’s  house,  they  shall  pluck  out  his 
eye. 

The  Old  Testament  has  no  laws  with  which  to  compare  these. 
The  two  classes  of  persons  whose  children  are  mentioned  were 
banished  from  Israel  by  Deut.  23  : 17,  18. 

Wet-nurses  or  Foster-mothers 

§  194.  If  a  man  gives  his  son  unto  a  nurse  and  his  son  dies  in  the  hands  of 
the  nurse  and  the  nurse  substitutes  another  child  without  the  consent  of  the 
father  or  the  mother,  they  shall  prosecute  her;  because  she  substituted  another 
child  without  the  consent  of  his  father  or  his  mother  they  shall  cut  off  her  breast. 

This  law  also  is  without  Biblical  parallel. 

Assault  and  Battery 

§  195.  If  a  son  strikes  his  father,  they  shall  cut  off  his  hand. 

§  196.  If  a  man  destroys  the  eye  of  the  son  of  a  patrician,  they  shall  destroy 

his  eye. 

§  197.  If  he  breaks  a  man’s  bone,  they  shall  break  his  bone. 

§  198.  If  one  destroys  the  eye  of  a  workingman  or  breaks  the  bone  of  a 

workingman,  he  shall  pay  1  mana  of  silver. 

§  199.  If  one  destroys  the  eye  of  a  man’s  slave  or  breaks  the  bone  of  a  man’s 
slave,  he  shall  pay  half  his  value. 

§  200.  If  a  man  knocks  out  the  tooth  of  a  man  of  his  own  rank,  they  shall 
knock  his  tooth  out. 

§  201.  If  one  knocks  out  the  tooth  of  a  workingman,  he  shall  pay  £  of  a  mana 
of  silver. 

§  202.  If  a  man  shall  strike  the  private-parts  of  a  man  who  is  of  higher  rank 
than  he,  he  shall  receive  sixty  blows  with  an  ox-hide  scourge  in  the  assembly. 

§  203.  If  a  patrician  strikes  the  private-parts  of  a  patrician  of  his  own  rank, 
he  shall  pay  1  mana  of  silver. 

§  204.  If  a  workingman  strikes  the  private-parts  of  a  workingman,  he  shall 
pay  10  shekels  of  silver. 

§  205.  If  the  slave  of  a  patrician  strikes  the  private-parts  of  the  son  of  a 
patrician,  they  shall  cut  off  his  ear. 


334 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


§  206.  If  a  man  strikes  a  man  in  a  quarrel  and  wounds  him,  he  shall  swear, 
“I  did  not  strike  with  intent,”  and  shall  pay  for  the  physician. 

§  207.  If  from  the  stroke  he  dies,  he  shall  swear  [as  above],  and  if  it  was  a 
patrician,  he  shall  pay  \  mana  of  silver. 

§  208.  If  it  was  a  workingman,  he  shall  pay  f  of  a  mana  of  silver. 

§  209.  If  a  man  strikes  a  man’s  daughter  and  causes  a  miscarriage,  he  shall 
pay  10  shekels  of  silver  for  her  miscarriage. 

§  210.  If  that  woman  dies,  they  shall  put  his  daughter  to  death. 

§  211.  If  through  a  stroke  one  causes  a  miscarriage  of  the  daughter  of  a 
workingman,  he  shall  pay  5  shekels  of  silver. 

§  212.  If  that  woman  dies,  he  shall  pay  \  mana  of  silver. 

§  213.  If  one  strikes  the  slave-girl  of  a  man  and  causes  a  miscarriage,  he  shall 
pay  2  shekels  of  silver. 

§  214.  If  that  slave-girl  dies,  he  shall  pay  |  of  a  mana  of  silver. 

These  laws  are  strikingly  parallel  to  Exod.  21  :  18-27,  to  which 
Exod.  21  :  12-14  should  be  prefixed.  The  Babylonian  code,  like 
the  Hebrew,  imposes  the  death  penalty  for  wilful  murder.  Both 
codes  provide  that  one  who  is  an  accidental  homicide  shall  escape 
the  penalty,  but  they  do  it  in  different  ways.  Hammurapi  pro¬ 
vides  that  the  killer  may  take  an  oath  that  he  did  it  without  intent 
to  kill.  Exod.  21  :  13,  14  provides  that  the  homicide  may  find 
sanctuary  at  the  altar  of  God.  In  place  of  this  Deut.  19  : 4,  ff., 
provides  that  he  may  flee  to  a  city  of  refuge. 

If  a  man  injures  another  in  a  fight,  the  Bible  (Exod.  21  :  18,  19) 
provides  that  he  shall  pay  for  the  lost  time  and,  as  does  Hammu¬ 
rapi,  the  cost  of  healing  the  injured  man.  Exod.  21 :  22  provides,  as 
does  Hammurapi,  for  the  payment  of  a  fine  for  causing  a  woman  to 
miscarry,  but  Exodus  does  not,  like  the  Babylonian  code,  fix  the 
amount  of  the  damage;  that  is  left  to  the  judges.  In  the  laws  con¬ 
cerning  the  injury  of  slaves  the  two  codes  differ.  Exodus  provides 
(21  :  20,  21,  26,  27)  for  cases  in  which  owners  injure  or  kill  their 
own  slaves;  Hammurapi,  for  cases  in  which  the  injury  is  done  by 
others.  A  mere  reading  of  the  penalties  imposed  by  the  parts  of  the 
Babylonian  code  translated  above  impresses  vividly  upon  the  mind 
the  fact  that  underlying  many  of  them  is  the  principle  so  forcibly 
expressed  in  Exod.  21  :  21-25:  “life  for  life,  eye  for  eye,  tooth  for 
tooth,  hand  for  hand,  foot  for  foot,  burning  for  burning,  wound  for 
wound,  stripe  for  stripe.”  The  details  of  application  are  different, 
but  the  principle  is  the  same.  Many  of  the  differences  were  caused 
by  the  more  complex  nature  of  Babylonian  society,  in  which  three 
classes,  patricians,  workingmen  (or  semi-serfs),  and  slaves,  existed. 
Hebrew  law  recognizes  but  two  classes — freemen  and  slaves. 


HAMMURAPI  AND  THE  PENTATEUCH 


335 


Physicians 

§  215.  If  a  physician  operates  upon  a  man  for  a  severe  wound  with  a  bronze 
lancet  and  saves  the  man’s  life,  or  if  he  operates  for  cataract  with  a  bronze  lancet 
and  saves  the  man’s  eye,  he  shall  receive  10  shekels  of  silver. 

§  216.  If  it  is  a  workingman,  he  shall  receive  5  shekels  of  silver. 

§  217.  If  it  is  a  man’s  slave,  the  owner  of  the  slave  shall  give  the  physician  2 
shekels  of  silver. 

§  218.  If  a  physician  operates  upon  a  man  with  a  bronze  lancet  for  a  severe 
wound,  and  the  man  dies;  or  operates  upon  a  man.  with  a  bronze  lancet  for 
cataract  and  the  man’s  eye- is  destroyed,  they  shall  cut  off  his  hand. 

§  219.  If  a  physician  operates  with  a  bronze  lancet  upon  the  slave  of  a  work¬ 
ingman  and  causes  his  death,  he  shall  restore  a  slave,  of  equal  value. 

§  220.  If  hn  operates  for  cataract  with  a  bronze  lancet  and  destroys  his  eye, 
he  shall  pay  ^  his  price. 

§  221.  If  a  physician  sets  a  broken  bone  for  a  man  or  has  cured  of  sickness 
inflamed  flesh,  the  patient  shall  pay  5  shekels  of  silver  to  the  physician. 

§  222.  If  he  is  a  workingman,  he  shall  give  3  shekels  of  silver. 

§  223.  If  he  is  the  slave  of  a.  patrician,  the  owner  of  the  slave  shall  give  3 
shekels  of  silver  to  the  physician. 

§  224.  If  an  ox-doctor  or  an  ass-doctor  treats  an  ox  or  an  ass  for  a  severe 
wound  and  saves  its.  life,  the  owner  of  the  ox  or  the  ass  shall  pay  to  the  physician 
§  of  a  shekel  of  silver  as  his  fee. 

§  225.  If  he  operates  upon  an  ox  or  an  ass  for  a  severe  wound  and  it  dies,  he 
shall  give  unto  the  owner  of  the  ox  or  the  ass  f  of  its  value. 

These  laws  about  physicians  have  no  parallel  in  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment,  the  laws  of  which  did  not.  take  account  of  the  existence  of 
doctors.  They  are  of  interest,  since  they  show  the  antiquity  of 
physicians  in  Babylonia,  not  only  for  men,  but  for  animals.  They 
also  reveal  the  fact  that  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Babylonia  was 
attended  by  some  risks ! 

Herodotus  (I,  197)  declares  that  the  Babylonians  had  no  physi¬ 
cians,  but  brought  their  sick  out  into  the  streets  and  asked  of  each 
passer-by  whether  he  had  had  a  like  sickness  and  what  he  had  done 
for  it.  Possibly,  as  among  ourselves,  there  were  many  who  did  not 
wish  to  incur  the  expense  of  a  doctor,  and  who  did  as  Herodotus 
reports,  but  these  laws,  and  the  existence  of  physicians  at  Nineveh 
at  the  time  of  the  later  Assyrian  kings,  make  it  probable  that 
Herodotus  was  wrong  as  to  their  non-existence  at  Babylon  in  his 
day. 

Laws  of  Branding 

§  226.  If  a  brander  without  the  consent  of  the  owner  of  a  slave  cuts  a  mark 
on  a  slave,  making  him  unsalable,  they  shall  cut  off  the  hands  of  that  brander. 

§  227.  If  a  man  deceives  a  brander  and  he  brands  a  slave  with  a  mark,  making 
him  unsalable,  they  shall  put  that  man  to  death  and  cause  him  to  perish  in  the 
gate  of  his  house.  The  brander  shall  swear:  “I  did  not  brand  him  knowingly” 
and  shall  go  free. 


336 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


These  laws  have  no  parallel  in  the  Old  Testament.  Evidently  the 
simpler  organization  of  Hebrew  society  made  them  unnecessary. 

Responsibility  of  House-builders 

§  228.  If  a  builder  builds  a  house  for  a  man  and  completes  it,  he  shall  give 
him  as  his  wages  2  shekels  of  silver  for  each  Shar  of  house. 

§  229.  If  a  builder  builds  a  house  for  a  man  and  does  not  make  its  work 
strong  and  the  house  which  he  made  falls  and  causes  the  death  of  the  owner  of 
the  house,  that  builder  shall  be  put  to  death. 

§  230.  If  it  causes  the  death  of  the  son  of  the  owner,  the  son  of  that  builder 
shall  be  put  to  death. 

§  231.  If  it  causes  the  death  of  a  slave  of  the  owner  of  the  house,  a  slave  like 
the  slave  he  shall  give  to  the  owner  of  the  house. 

§  232.  If  it  destroys  property,  he  shall  restore  whatever  was  destroyed,  and 
because  he  did  not  build  the  house  strong  and  it  fell,  he  shall  rebuild  the  house 
that  fell  from  his  own  property. 

§  233.  If  a  builder  builds  a  house  for  a  man  and  does  not  make  his  work 
strong  and  a  wall  falls,  that  builder  shall  strengthen  that  wall  at  his  own  expense. 

These  laws  have  no  parallel  in  the  Bible.  Among  the  agricul¬ 
tural  population  of  Palestine  builders  were  not  a  separate  class. 
The  penalties  inflicted  by  the  Babylonian  code  were  severe,  and  yet, 
if  modern  legislators  would  put  upon  the  house-builders  of  our  time 
a  similar  responsibility  for  good  work,  fewer  lives  would  be  sacri¬ 
ficed  by  falling  buildings. 


Responsibility  of  Boatmen 

§  234.  If  a  boatman  builds  a  boat  of  60  Gur  for  a  man,  he  shall  give  him  2 
shekels  of  silver  as  his  wages. 

§  235.  If  a  boatman  builds  a  boat  for  a  man  and  does  not  make  his  work 
sound  and  in  that  year  the  boat  is  sent  on  a  voyage  and  meets  with  disaster,  that 
boatman  shall  repair  that  boat  and  from  his  own  goods  shall  make  it  strong  and 
shall  give  the  boat  in  sound  condition  to  the  owner  of  the  boat. 

§  236.  .  If  a  man  gives  his  boat  to  a  boatman  for  hire  and  the  boatman  is  care¬ 
less  and  sinks  or  wrecks  the  boat,  the  boatman  shall  restore  a  boat  to  the  owner 
of  the  boat. 

§  237.  If  a  man  hires  a  boatman  and  a  boat  and  loads  it  with  grain,  wool, 
oil,  dates,  or  any  other  kind  of  freight,  and  that  boatman  is  careless  and  sinks  the 
boat  or  destroys  its  freight,  the  boatman  shall  replace  the  boat  and  whatever 
there  was  in  it  which  he  destroyed. 

§  238.  If  a  boatman  sinks  af man’s  boat  and  re-floats  it,  he  shall  give  money 
for  \  its  value. 

§  239.  If  a  man  hires  a  boatman,  he  shall  give  him  6  Gur  of  grain  a  year. 


The  Hebrews  were  not  a  maritime  people,  and  had  no  such  laws 
as  these  or  the  following. 


HAMMURAPI  AND  THE  PENTATEUCH 


337 


The  Collision  of  Ships 

§  240.  If  a  boat  that  is  floating  downstream  strikes  a  boat  that  is  being 
towed  and  sinks  it,  the  owner  of  the  boat  that  was  sunk  shall  declare  in  the 
presence  of  a  god  everything  that  was  in  that  boat  and  [the  owner]  of  the  boat 
floating  downstream,  which  sunk  the  boat  that  was  being  towed,  shall  replace  the 
boat  and  whatever  was  lost. 

There  is,  naturally,  nothing  similar  to  this  in  the  Old  Testament. 

Laws  Concerning  Cattle 

§  241.  If  a  man  levies  a  distraint  upon  an  ox  as  security  for  debt,  he  shall 
pay  |  of  a  mana  of  silver. 

§  242.  If  a  man  hires  for  a  year,  the  wages  of  a  working  ox  is  4  Gur  of  grain. 

§  243.  The  hire  of  a  milch  cow,-3  Gur  of  grain  for  a  year  he  shall  give. 

§  244.  If  a  man  hires  an  ox  or  an  ass  and  a  Hon  kiHs  it  in  the  field,  the  loss 
falls  on  the  owner. 

§  245.  If  a  man  hires  an  ox  and  causes  its  death  through  neglect  or  blows,  he 
shall  restore  to  the  owner  an  ox  of  equal  value. 

§  246.  If  a  man  hires  an  ox  and  crushes  its  foot  or  cuts  the  cord  of  its  neck, 
he  shall  restore  to  the  owner  an  ox  of  like  value. 

§  247.  If  a  man  hires  an  ox  and  destroys  its  eye,  he  shall  pay  to  the  owner  of 
the  ox  money  to  \  its  value. 

§  248.  If  a  man  hires  an  ox  and  breaks  off  its  horn,  or  cuts  off  its  tail  or  injures 
the  flesh  which  holds  the  ring,  money  to  j  of  its  value  he  shall  pay. 

§  249.  If  a  man  hires  an  ox  and  a  god  strikes  it  and  it  dies,  the  man  who  hires 
the  ox  shall  take  an  oath  in  the  presence  of  a  god  and  shaH  go  free. 

§  250.  If  an  ox  when  passing  along  the  street  gores  a  man  and  causes  his 
death,  there  is  no  penalty  in  that  case. 

§  251.  If  the  ox  of  a  man  has  the  habit  of  goring  and  they  have  informed  him 
of  his  fault  and  his  horns  he  has  not  protected  nor  kept  his  ox  in,  and  that  ox 
gores  a  man  and  causes  his  death,  the  owner  of  the  ox  shall  pay  \  mana  of  money. 

§  252.  If  it  is  the  slave  of  a  man,  he  shall  pay  3  of  a  mana  of  money. 

§  253.  If  a  man  hires  a  man  and  puts  him  over  his  field  and  furnishes  him 
with  seed-grain  and  intrusts  him  with  oxen  and  contracts  with  him  to  cultivate 
the  field,  if  that  man  steals  the  seed-grain  or  the  crop  and  it  is  found  in  his 
possession,  they  shall  cut  off  his  hands. 

§  254.  If  he  takes  the  seed-grain,  but  enfeebles  the  cattle,  from  the  grain 
which  he  has  cultivated  he  shall  make  restoration. 

§  255.  If  he  shall  let  the  cattle  to  a  man  for  hire,  or  steal  the  seed-grain  so 
that  there  is  no  crop,  they  shall  prosecute  that  man,  and  he  shall  pay  60  Gur 
of  grain  for  each  Gan. 

§  256.  If  he  is  not  able  to  meet  his  obligation,  they  shall  tear  him  in  pieces 
in  that  field  by  means  of  the  oxen. 

The  Biblical  legislation  corresponding  to  this  is  found  in  Exod. 
21  :  28-35,  but  it  covers  only  a  portion  of  the  cases  of  which  the 
Babylonian  law  treats.  It  provides  that,  if  an  ox  gores  a  man  or  a 
woman  to  death,  the  ox  shall  be  stoned.  If  the  ox  was  wont  to 
gore  and  the  owner  had  not  kept  it  in,  but  it  had  been  permitted  to 
kill  a  man  or  a  woman,  the  owner  as  well  as  the  ox  should  be  stoned. 
At  the  discretion  of  the  tribunal  a  fine  or  ransom  might  be  laid  on 


338 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


the  owner.  In  case  the  ox  gored  a  slave,  the  owner  of  the  ox  was  to 
pay  30  shekels  of  silver  and  the  ox  was  to  be  stoned.  If  a  man 
opened  a  pit  and  a  neighbor’s  ox  or  ass  fell  into  it,  the  digger  of  the 
pit  must  make  good  the  loss  to  the  owner  of  the  animal,  and  the 
dead  beast  became  the  property  of  the  digger  of  the  pit.  If  one 
man’s  ox  killed  the  ox  of  another  man,  the  two  men  were  to  sell 
the  live  ox  and  divide  the  price.  If  it  were  known  that  the  ox  was 
wont  to  gore  in  the  past,  and  its  owner  had  not  kept  it  in,  he  was  to 
pay  ox  for  ox,  and  the  dead  animal  should  be  his. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  exigencies  of  Hebrew  agricultural  life 
were  different  from  those  of  Babylonia,  and  were  naturally  met  in 
different  ways. 

Wages  of  Laborers 

§  257.  If  a  man  hires  a  field-laborer,  he  shall  pay  him  8  Gur  of  grain  per  year. 

§  258.  If  a  man  hires  a  herdsman,  he  shall  pay  him  6  Gur  of  grain  per  year. 

Hebrew  law  did  not  regulate  wages. 

On  Stealing  Farming-tools 

§  259.  If  a  man  steals  a  watering-machine  from  a  field,  he  shall  pay  to  the 
owner  of  the  watering-machine  5  shekels  of  silver. 

§  260.  If  a  man  steals  a  watering-bucket  or  a  plow,  he  shall  pay  3  shekels  of 
silver. 

As  the  Hebrews  did  not  systematically  irrigate  their  land,  the 
Old  Testament  contains  no  similar  laws. 

Laws  Concerning  Shepherds 

§  261.  If  a  man  hires  a  herdsman  to  tend  cattle  or  sheep,  he  shall  pay  him  8 
Gur  of  grain  per  year. 

§  262.  If  a  man,  oxen,  or  sheep . 

(The  rest  is  broken  away.) 

§  263.  If  he  loses  an  ox  or  a  sheep  that  is  intrusted  to  him,  he  shall  restore 
ox  for  ox  and  sheep  for  sheep. 

§  264.  If  a  herdsman  who  has  had  cattle  or  sheep  intrusted  to  him  receives 
his  full  pay  and  is  satisfied,  and  he  causes  the  cattle  or  the  sheep  to  diminish  in 
number  or  lessens  the  birth-rate,  he  shall  give  increase  and  produce  according 
to  his  contracts. 

§  265.  If  a  shepherd  to  whom  cattle  or  sheep  have  been  given  to  tend  is  dis¬ 
honest  and  alters  the  price  or  sells  them,  they  shall  prosecute  him,  and  he  shall 
restore  to  their  owner  10  times  the  oxen  or  sheep  which  he  stole. 

§  266.  If  in  a  fold  there  is  a  pestilence  of  a  god,  or  a  lion  has  slain,  the  shep¬ 
herd  shall  before  a  god  declare  himself  innocent,  and  the  owner  of  the  fold  shall 
bear  the  loss  of  the  fold. 

§  267.  If  the  shepherd  is  careless  and  causes  a  loss  in  the  fold,  the  shepherd 
shall  make  good  in  cattle  or  sheep  the  loss  which  he  caused  in  the  fold  and  shall 
give  them  to  the  owner. 


HAMMURAPI  AND  THE  PENTATEUCH 


339 


The  nearest  approach  in  the  Old  Testament  to  laws  of  this  char¬ 
acter  is  in  Exod.  22  :  10-13,  which  provides  that,  if  a  man  deliver  to 
his  neighbor  an  ox,  or  ass,  or  sheep,  or  any  beast  to  keep,  and  it 
dies,  or  is  injured  or  is  carried  off  when  no  one  sees  the  deed,  the 
oath  of  Jehovah  shall  be  between  them  that  the  keeper  has  not  put 
his  hand  to  his  neighbor’s  goods.  The  owner  was  to  accept  this, 
and  no  restitution  was  necessary.  If  the  animals  were  stolen  from 
the  keeper,  he  must  make  restitution.  If  they  were  torn  in  pieces 
by  beasts  of  prey,  he  must  bring  the  pieces  for  witness,  and  need  not 
make  restitution. 

The  same  general  principles  of  the  limits  of  responsibility  under¬ 
lay  the  two  codes  in  these  cases,  though  they  differ  in  details.  In 
Israel  the  shepherding  of  the  flocks  and  herds  of  other  people  was 
not,  as  in  Babylonia,  a  distinct  occupation. 

On  Wages  of  Animals  and  Men 

§  268.  If  a  man  hires  an  ox  for  threshing,  20  Qa  of  grain  is  its  hire. 

§  269.  If  he  hires  an  ass  for  threshing,  10  Qa  of  grain  is  its  hire. 

§  270.  If  he  hires  a  kid  for  threshing,  1  Qa  of  grain  is  its  hire. 

§  271.  If  he  hires  cattle,  a  wagon  and  a  driver,  he  shall  pay  180  Qa  of  grain 
per  day. 

§  272.  If  a  man  hires  a  wagon  only,  he  shall  pay  40  Qa  of  grain  per  day. 

§  273.  If  a  man  hires  a  field-laborer  from  the  beginning  of  the  year  until  the 
fifth  month,  he  shall  pay  him  6  She  of. silver  per  day;  from  the  sixth  month  to  the 
end  of  the  year,  5  She  of  silver  per  day  he  shall  pay. 

§  274.  If  a  man  hires  an  artisan,  he  shall  give  per  day  as  the  wages  of  a . 

5  She;  as  the  wages  of  a  brick-maker,  5  She  of  money;  as  the»wages  of  a  tailor,  5 

She  of  silver;  as  the  wages  of  a  stone-cutter, . She  of  silver; . She 

of  silver; . She  of  silver; . of  a  carpenter,  A  She  of  silver; 

as  the  wages  of  a . 4  She  of  silver;  as  the  wages  of  a . She  of  silver; 

the  wages  of  a  builder, . She  of  silver. 

§  275.  If  a  man  hires  a  boat  (?)  to  go  upstream  (?),  its  hire  is  3  She  of  silver 
per  day. 

§  276.  If  he  hires  a  boat  to  float  downstream,  he  shall  pay  as  its  hire  2\  She 
of  silver  per  day. 

§  277.  If  a  man  hires  a  boat  of  60  Gur  burden,  he  shall  pay  §  of  a  shekel  of 
money  per  day. 

There  are  no  parallels  to  these  laws  in  the  Bible,  as  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment  does  not  attempt  to  regulate  prices.  When  one  considers  the 
customs  of  trade  all  over  the  Orient,  and  the  time  fruitlessly  con¬ 
sumed  in  making  bargains,  one  does  not  wonder  that  the  practical 
sovereign  of  a  great  commercial  people,  such  as  the  Babylonians 
were,  should  regulate  prices  by  law.  As  a  rule,  to  this  day,  a  pur¬ 
chaser  begins  by  offering  only  a  fraction  of  what  he  is  willing  to 
give,  and  the  seller  by  asking  at  least  twice  as  much  as  he  is  will- 


340 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


ing  to  take.  A  long  psychological  battle  follows,  during  which  there 
are  many  victories  and  capitulations  on  each  side.  This  law  was 
designed  to  put  an  end  to  this  time-consuming  custom. 

When  the  Sales  of  Slaves  are  Void 

§  278.  If  a  man  buys  a  male  or  a  female  slave  and  before  a  month  is  past  he 
has  an  attack  of  rheumatism  (?),  he  shall  return  to  the  seller,  and  the  purchaser 
shall  receive  back  the  money  that  was  paid. 

§  279.  If  a  man  buys  a  male  or  a  female  slave,  and  another  has  a  legal  claim 
upon  him,  the  seller  shall  be  responsible  for  that  claim. 

§  280.  If  a  man,#  while  in  a  foreign  country,  purchases  a  male  or  a  female 
slave  of  a  man,  and,  when  he  returns  home,  the  former  owner  of  the  male  or  the 
female  slave  recognizes  his  slave,  if  that  male  or  female  slave  is  a.  native  of  the 
land,  he  shall  give  it  its  freedom  without  recompense. 

§  281.  If  they  are  natives  of  another  country,  the  purchaser  shall  declare  in 
the  presence  of  a  god  the  price  that  he  paid,  and  the  former  owner  of  the  male  or 
female  slave  shall  pay  the  price  to  the  merchant,  and  shall  receive  back  his  slave. 

No  laws  similar  to  these  are  found  in  the  Old  Testament. 

The  Penalty  for  Renouncing  a  Master 

§  282.  If  a  slave  shall  say  to  his  owner:  “Thou  art  not  my  owner,”  they  shall 
make  him  submit  as  his  slave,  and  shall  cut  off  his  ear. 

This  penalty  reminds  one  of  the  boring  of  a  slave’s  ear  (Exod. 
21  :  6;  Deut.  15  :  17)  in  token  of  perpetual  slavery. 

2.  The  Mosaic  Code  not  Borrowed  from  the  Babylonian;  Dif¬ 
ferent  Underlying  Conceptions. 

A  comparison  of  the  code  of  Hammurapi  as  a  whole  with  the 
Pentateuchal  laws  as  a  whole,  while  it  reveals  certain  similarities, 
convinces  the  student  that  the  laws  of  the  Old  Testament  are  in  no 
essential  way  dependent  upon  the  Babylonian  laws.  Such  resem¬ 
blances  as  there  are  arose,  it  seems  clear,  from  a  similarity  of  ante¬ 
cedents  and  of  general  intellectual  outlook;  the  striking  differences 
show  that  there  was  no  direct  borrowing.  The  primitive  Semitic 
custom  of  an  eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth  (Exod.  21  :  24; 
Lev.  24  :  20;  Deut.  19  :  21)  is  made  the  basis  of  many  penalties  in 
the  Babylonian  code.  (See  §§  196,  197,  200,  229,  230,  etc.)  The 
principle  underlying  it  is  found  also  in  many  other  sections.  These 
similarities  only  show  that  Babylonia  had  a  large  Semitic  element  in 
its  population.  Again,  Hammurapi  pictured  himself  at  the  top  of 
the  pillar  on  which  these  laws  are  written  as  receiving  them  from 
the  sun-god  (Fig.  292).  The  Bible  tells  us  that  Moses  received  the 


HAMMURAPI  AND  THE  PENTATEUCH 


341 


laws  of  the  Pentateuch  from  Jehovah.  The  whole  attitude  of  the 
two  documents  is,  however,  different.  Hammurapi,  in  spite  of  the 
picture,  takes  credit,  both  in  the,  prologue  and  in  the  epilogue  of  his 
code,  for  the  laws.  He,  not  Shamash,  established  justice  in  the 
land.  Moses,  on  the  other  hand,  wras  only  the  instrument;  the 
legislation  stands  as  that  of  Jehovah  himself. 

This  difference  appears  also  in  the  contents  of  the  two  codes. 
The  Pentateuch  contains  many  ritual  regulations  and  purely  relig¬ 
ious  laws,  while  the  code  of  Hammurapi  is  purely  civil.  As  has 
been  already  pointed  out,  the  code  of  Hammurapi  is  adapted  to  the 
land  of  the  rivers,  and  to  a  highly  civilized  commercial  people,  while 
the  Biblical  laws  are  intended  for  a  dry  land  like  Palestine,  and  for 
an  agricultural  community  that  was  at  a  far  less  advanced  stage  of 
commercial  and  social  development. 

Religion  is,  however,  not  a  matter  of  social  advancement  only. 
In  all  that  pertains  to  religious  insight  the  Pentateuch  is  far  in  ad¬ 
vance  of  Hammurapi’s  laws. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


AN  ALLEGED  PARALLEL  TO  LEVITICUS— A  CARTHA¬ 
GINIAN  LAW  CONCERNING  SACRIFICES1 

The  Text  of  the  Carthaginian  Law.  Comparison  with  the  Levittcal  Law. 

1.  The  Text  of  the  Carthaginian  Law. 

Temple  of  Baalfzephon].  Tar[iff  of  d]ues,  which  [the  superintendents  of  d]ues 
fixed  in  the  time  [of  our  rulers,  Khalasjbaal,  the  judge,  son  of  Bodtanith,  son  of 
Bod[eshmun,  and  of  Khalasbaal],  the  judge,  son  of  Bodeshmun,  son  of  Khalas- 
baal,  and  their  colleagues. 

For  an  ox  as  a  whole  burnt-offering2  or  a  prayer-offering,  or  a  whole  peace¬ 
offering,3  the  priests  shall  have  10  (shekels)  of  silver  for  each;  and  in  case  of  a 
whole  burnt-offering,  they  shall  have  in  addition  to  this  fee  [300  shekels  of  flejsh; 
and,  in  case  of  a  prayer-offering,  the  trimmings,  the  joints;  but  the  skin  and  the 
fat  of  the  inwards4  and  the  feet  and  the  rest  of  the  flesh  the  owner  of  the  sacrifice 
shall  have. 

For  a  calf  whose  horns  are  wanting,  in  case  of  one  not  castrated  (?),  or  in  case 
of  a  ram  as  a  whole  burnt-offering,  the  priests  shall  have  5  shekels  of  silver  [for 
each;  and  in  case  of  a  whole  burnt-offering  they  shall  have  in  addition  to  this 
fee  150  shekels  of  flesh;  and,  in  case  of  a  prayer-offering,  the  trimmings  and  the 
joints;  but  the  skin  and  the  fat  of  the  inwards  and  the  fe[et  and  the  rest  of  the 
flesh  the  owner  of  the  sacrifice  shall  have]. 

In  case  of  a  ram  or  a  goat  as  a  whole  burnt-offering,  or  a  prayer-offering,  or  a 
whole  peace-offering,  the  priests  shall  have  1  shekel  of  silver  and  2  zars  for  each; 
and,  in  case  of  a  prayer-offering,  they  shall  [have  in  addition  to  this  fee  the  trim¬ 
mings]  and  the  joints;  but  the  skin  and  the  fat  of  the  inwards  and  the  feet  and 
the  rest  of  the  flesh  the  owner  of  the  sacrifice  shall  have. 

For  a  lamb,  or  a  kid,  or  the  young  (?)  of  a  hart,  as  a  whole  burnt-offering,  or  a 
prayer-offering,  or  a  whole  peace-offering,  the  priests  shall  have  f  (of  a  shekel) 

and . zars  of  silver  [for  each;  and,  in  case  of  a  prayer-offering,  they  shall 

have  in  addition]  to  this  fee  the  trimmings  and  the  joints;  but  the  skin  and  the 
fat  of  the  inwards  and  the  feet  and  the  rest  of  the  flesh  the  own[er  of  the  sacri¬ 
fice]  shall  have. 

For  a  bird,  domestic  or  wild,  as  a  whole  peace-offering,  or  a  sacrifice-to-avert- 
calamity  (?)  or  an  oracular  (?)  sacrifice,  the  priests  shall  have  f  (of  a  shekel)  of 
silver  and  2  zars  for  each;  but  the  f  [lesh  shall  belong  to  the  owner  of  the  sacrifice]. 

For  a  bird,  or  sacred  first-fruits,  or  a  sacrifice  of  game,  or  a  sacrifice  of  oil, 
the  priests  shall  have  10  g[erahs ]  for  each;  but . 

In  case  of  every  prayer-offering  that  is  presented  before  the  gods,  the  priests 
shall  have  the  trimmings  and  the  joints;  and  in  the  case  of  a  prayer-offering.  . .  . 

1  From  the  Corpus  Inscriptionum  Semilicarum,  I,  No.  165. 

2  It  is  the  word  so  translated  in  Deut.  33  :  10. 

3  So  rendered  in  Lev.  7  :  13;  10  :  14.  Many  scholars  would  render  it  “thank-offering.” 

4  Compare  Exod.  29  :  13,  14.  The  Hebrew  law  differed  from  the  Carthaginian. 

342 


AN  ALLEGED  PARALLEL  TO  LEVITICUS  343 


For  a  cake,  and  for  milk,  and  for  every  sacrifice  which  a  man  may  offer,  for  a 
meal-offering1 . 

For  every  sacrifice  which  a  man  may  offer  who  is  poor  in  cattle,  or  poor  in 
birds,  the  priests  shall  not  have  anything . 

Every  freeman  and  every  slave  and  every  dependent2  of  the  gods  and  all  men 

who  may  sacrifice . ,  these  men  [shall  give]  for  the  sacrifice  at  the  rate 

prescribed  in  the  regulations . 

Every  payment  which  is  not  prescribed  in  this  table  shall  be  made  according 
to  the  regulations  which  [the  superintendents  of  the  dues  fixed  in  the  time  of 
Khalasbaal,  son  of  Bodtanijth,  and  Khalasbaal,  son  of  Bodeshmun,  and  their 
colleagues. 

Every  priest  who  shall  accept  payment  beyond  what  is  prescribed  in  this 
table  shall  be  fi[ned] . 

Every  person  who  sacrifices,  who  shall  not  give . for  the  fee 

which . 

2.  Comparison  with  the  Levitical  Law. 

This  document  is  not  earlier  than  the  fourth  or  fifth  century  b.  c. 
The  Carthaginians,  from  whom  it  comes,  were  an  offshoot  of  the 
Phoenicians,  who  were,  in  turn,  descended  from  the  Canaanites. 
They  were  accordingly  of  kindred  race  to  the  Hebrews.  One  can, 
therefore,  see  from  this  document  something  of  how  the  Levitical 
institutions  of  Israel  resembled  and  how  they  differed  from  those  of 
their  kinsmen.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  main  sacrifices  bore  the 
same  names  among  both  peoples.  We  find  the  “whole  burnt- 
offering,”  the  “peace-offering,”  and  the  “meal-offering.”  The 
Carthaginians  had  no  “sin-offering,”  while  among  the  Hebrews  we 
find  no  “prayer-offering.”  The  ways  of  rewarding  the  priests  also 
differed  with  the  two  peoples.  The  Hebrews  had  no  such  regular 
tariff  of  priests’  dues  as  the  Carthaginians,  but  parts  of  certain 
offerings  and  all  of  others  belonged  to  them.  Leviticus  assigns 
from  the  peace-offering  the  “heave-thigh”  and  the  “wave-breast” 
to  the  priests  (Lev.  7  :  14,  34;  Num.  5  :  9,  10;  31  :  29,  41).  Meal- 
or  flour-offerings  belonged  to  the  priests  (Lev.  5  :  13;  7  :  9,  10),  as 
did  the  sin-  and  trespass-offerings  (Lev.  6  :  18,  29 ;  7  :  9,  10).  Of 
the  burnt-offerings  the  priests  had  the  skin  (Lev.  7:8). 

The  interesting  thing  is  that  in  the  ritual,  as  in  the  social  laws, 
we  find  that  the  heathen  Semites  had  a  considerable  number  of 
regulations  similar  to  those  of  the  Hebrews. 

1  This  is  the  rendering  of  the  Revised  Version  for  this  word.  The  Authorized  Version  rendered 
it  less  accurately  “meat-offering.” 

2  Each  temple  had  a  number  of  officials  connected  with  it  besides  the  priests,  such  as  carpenters, 
gate-keepers,  slaughterers,  barbers,  Sodomites,  and  female  slaves.  Another  Phoenician  inscrip¬ 
tion  mentions  these. 


CHAPTER  XV 


SOME  LETTERS  FROM  PALESTINE 

Letters  of  Rib-Adda  of  Gebal.  Of  Ebed-Hepa  of  Jerusalem.  Their  Light  on 
Conditions  in  the  Period  of  the  Egyptian  Domination  of  Palestine. 

Many  of  the  El-Amarna1  Letters  were  written  from  Palestine 
and  Phoenicia.  Some  scholars  think  these  letters  come  from  the 
Patriarchal  period;  others  hold  that  they  are  contemporary  with 
the  Hebrew  conquest,  and  give  us  additional  information  concerning 
it.  Some  of  those  who  hold  this  last  view  believe  that  the  conquest 
of  Palestine  by  the  Hebrews  was  not  made  all  at  once.  They  think 
that  the  tribes  descended  from  Leah  entered  the  land  before  those 
descended  from  Rachel.  Such  scholars  hold  that  these  letters  give 
us  contemporary  evidence  of  the  wars  of  the  Leah  tribes.  Which¬ 
ever  view  one  takes,  the  letters  are  most  interesting,  as  they  open  to 
us  a  previously  unknown  chapter  in  the  history  of  Jerusalem. 

1.  Some  Letters  of  Rib-Adda  of  Gebal.2 

I3 

To  the  king,  my  lord,  the  king  of  the  countries,  speak,  saying,  Rib-Adda,  thy 
servant,  the  footstool  of  thy  feet;  at  the  feet  of  the  sun,  my  lord,  eight  times  and 
seven  times  I  prostrate  myself.  Again,  there  is  clear  to  the  king,  my  lord,  the 
deed  of  Ebed-Ashera,  the  dog,  when  all  the  lands  of  the  king,  my  lord,  are  made 
over  unto  him  and  are  subservient  to  his  land.  And  now  behold  the  city  of 
Sumur  has  been  won  over — a  fold  of  my  lord  and  a  temple  of  his  shrine — to 
him,  and  he  has  encamped  in  the  temple  of  my  shrine  and  has  opened  the  place 

of  the  curse  of  my  lord  and  won  it.  What  is  he,  a  man . .and  dog  that 

he  should  judge?  Again,  when  men  say  in  the  presence  of  the  king,  my  lord: 

“Learn  that  Gebal  is . ,”  then  know  that  he  has  not  taken  Gebal 

. and  it  is  difficult  for  the  lands  of  the  king,  my  lord.  Again, 

let  the  king,  my  lord,  send  his  inspector  who  may  judge.  . . and  may 

protect  the  city  of  the  king,  my  lord.  And  I . and  will  serve  my  lord, 

the  king  of  the  lands.  And  may  my  lord  send  people  and  let  them  bring  what¬ 
ever  belongs  to  my . into  the  presence  of  the  king,  my  lord,  and  let  not 

that  dog  take  anything  that  belongs  to  thy  gods.  And  is  it  clear  now  that  he 
would  take  Gebal?  See,  Gebal  is  like  Memphis,  loyal  to  the  king.  A  second 
time,  see  Ebed-Ninib,  the  man  whom  I  sent  with  Buhiya,  is  a .  So 

1  See  Part  I,  Chapter  I,  §  7  (3). 

*From  Winckler  und  Abel’s  Thonlafelnfund  von  El-Amarna,  No.  73.  Cf.  Knudtzon,  Die  El- 
Amarna  Tafeln,  No.  84. 

*  The  letter  takes  up  assertions  made  by  Rib-Adda  in  previous  letters. 

344 


SOME  LETTERS  FROM  PALESTINE 


345 


send  unto  thy  servant.  Again  see,  Ummahnu  is  a  maid-servant  of  the  Baal- 
goddess  of  Gebal;  her  husband  is  Ishkur . send! . 

(The  tablet  is  broken  off  at  this  point.) 

II1 

To  the  king,  my  lord,  my  sun,  say:  Rib-Adda,  thy  servant;  at  the  feet  of  my 
lord,  my  sun-god,  seven  times  and  seven  times  I  prostrate  myself.  May  the 
king,  my  lord,  listen  to  the  words  of  his  faithful  servant!  It  is  going  very  hard 
for  me!  The  hostility  has  become  strong.  The  sons  of  Ebed-Ashera  have 
become  great  in  Airiurru;  theirs  is  the  whole  land.  The  city  of  Sumur  and  the 
city  of  Irkata  are  left  to  the  princes.  And  behold  in  Sumur  I  am  strong.  When 

it  was  difficult  for  the  princes  on  account  of  the  enmity,  I  left  Gebal  and . 

Zimridda  and . Yapa-Addi . with  me.  Behold,  then  wrote 

the  prince  unto  them;  but  they  did  not  hearken  unto  him.  And  may  the  king, 
my  lord,  hearken  to  the  words  of  his  faithful  servant!  Send  aid  very  quickly 
unto  the  city  Sumur  for  its  protection  until  the  arrival  of  the  mercenaries  of  the 
king,  the  sun.  And  may  the  king,  the  sun,  drive  out  the  enemy  from  his  land. 
Again  may  the  king,  my  lord,  hearken  to  the  word  of  his  servant  and  send  men  as 
guards  to  the  city  of  Sumur  and  to  the  city  of  Irkata,  in  case  that  all  the  guards 
flee  from  Sumur.  And  may  it  seem  good  to  my  lord,  the  sun  of  the  countries, 
to  give  to  me  20  pairs  of  horses.  And  may  he  send  help  very  quickly  to  the  city 
of  Sumur  to  guard  it.  All  the  guards  who  remain  are  in  straits  and  few  are  the 
men  in  the  city.  If  mercenaries  thou  dost  not  send,  then  there  will  be  no  city 
remaining  to  thee.  If  there  are  mercenaries,  we  will  take  all  the  lands  for  the 
king. 

These  letters  mention  a  certain  Ebed-Ashera  and  claim  that  his 
sons  are  gaining  possession  of  all  the  land  of  Amurru.  If  the 
“Ebed”  were  dropped  out  of  the  phrase,  “sons  of  Ebed-Ashera,”2 
there  would  remain  “sons  of  Ashera,”  or,  “sons  of  Asher.”  The 
“land  of  Amurru,”  or,  “land  of  the  Amorites,”  lay,  at  the  time  these 
letters  were  written,  in  the  later  home  of  the  tribe  of  Asher,  and  a  lit¬ 
tle  to  the  north  of  it,  between  the  Lebanon  and  Anti-Lebanon  moun¬ 
tains.  Some  scholars  hold  that  we  have  in  these  letters  references 
to  the  coming  of  the  “sons  of  Asher,”  or  the  tribe  of  Asher  into  this 
region,  but  it  is  a  theory  which  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge 
we  can  neither  prove  nor  disprove.  If  it  should  prove  to  be  true, 
these  tablets  would  reflect  a  part  of  the  Hebrew  conquest  of  this 
region. 

2.  Letters  of  Ebed-Hepa  of  Jerusalem. 

I3 

[To  the  king,  my  lord,  speak,  saying,  E]bed-H[epa  thy  servant — at]  the  feet 
[of  the  king,  my  lord,]  seven  times  and  seven  times  [I  prostrate  myself].  Behold 

1  Winckler  und  Abel,  op.  cit.,  No.  77,  Knudtzon,  op.  cit.,  No.  103. 

2  These  “sons  of  Ebed-Ashera”  are  mentioned  in  many  other  letters. 

3  Winckler  und  Abel,  op.  cit.,  No.  174,  and  Knudtzon,  op.  cit.,  No.  286. 


346 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


I  am  not  a  [prefect];  a  vassal  am  I  unto  [the  king,  my  lord].  Why  did  not  the 
king,  [my  lord],  send  a  messenger  [quickly]?  In  similar  circumstances  sent 

Ienhamu . I.  [May]  the  king  [hearken  unto  Ebed]-Hepa,  his 

servant.  [Behold]  there  are  no  mercenaries.  [May]  the  king,  my  lord,  s[end 

a  governor]  and  let  him  take  [the  prefects]  with  him . lands  of  the  king 

. and  people . who  are . [and  Addaya],  the  governor 

of  the  king  [has]  their  house . So  may  the  king  care  for  them  and  send 

a  messenger  quickly.  When . 


II1 

To  the  king,  my  lord,  speak,  saying,  Ebed-Hepa,  thy  servant — at  the  feet  of 
my  lord,  the  king,  seven  times  and  seven  times  I  prostrate  myself.  What 
have  I  done  to  the  king,  my  lord?  They  slander  and  misrepresent  me  before  the 
king,  my  lord,  [saying]:  Ebed-Hepa  is  disloyal  to  the  king,  his  lord.  Behold  I — 
neither  my  father  nor  my  mother  set  me  in  this  place;  the  arm  of  the  mighty  king 
caused  me  to  enter  into  the  house  of  my  father.  Why  should  I  commit  rebellion 
against  the  king,  my  lord?  As  long  as  the  king,  my  lord,  lives  I  will  say  unto  the 
governor  of  the  king,  my  lord:  “Why  dost  thou  love  the  Habiri  and  hate  the 
prefects?”  But  thus  he  misrepresents  me  before  the  king,  my  lord.  Now  I  say, 
“Lost  are  the  lands  of  the  king,  my  lord.”  So  he  misrepresents  me  to  the  king, 
my  lord.  But  let  the  king,  my  lord,  know  (that)  after  the  king,  my  lord,  set 

guards,  Ienhamu  took  them  all . Egypt . of  the 

king,  my  lord;  [there  are  no]  guards  there.  Then  may  the  king  care  for  his  land! 
May  the  king  care  for  his  land!  Separated  are  all  the  lands  from  the  king. 
Ilimilku  has  destroyed  all  the  country  of  the  king;  so  may  the  king,  my  lord, 
care  for  his  land!  I  say:  “I  will  enter  the  presence  of  the  king,  my  lord,  and  I 
will  behold  the  eye  of  the  king,  my  lord,”  but  the  enemy  is  more  mighty  than  I, 
and  I  am  not  able  to  enter  into  the  presence  of  the  king,  my  lord.  So  may  it 

seem  right  to  the  king . may  he  send  guards,  and  I  will  enter  in  and 

will  behold  the  eyes  of  the  king,  my  lord!  And  so  long  as  the  king,  my  lord, 
lives,  so  long  as  the  governors  are  withdrawn,  I  will  say:  “Perished  are  the  lands 
of  the  king.”  Thou  dost  not  hearken  to  me!  All  the  prefects  have  perished; 
there  is  left  no  prefect  to  the  king,  my  lord!  May  the  king  turn  his  face  toward 
mercenaries,  so  that  there  may  come  forth  mercenaries  of  the  king,  my  lord. 
There  are  no  lands  left  to  the  king,  my  lord.  The  Habiri  plunder  all  the  coun¬ 
tries  of  the  king.  If  there  are  mercenaries  in  this  year,  then  there  will  be  left 
countries  of  the  king,  my  lord.  If  there  are  no  mercenaries,  the  countries  of  the 
king  will  be  lost.  Unto  the  scribe  of  the  king,  my  lord,  saying:  “Ebed-Hepa,  thy 
servant.  Take  beautiful  words  to  the  king,  my  lord!  Lost  are  all  the  lands  of 
the  king,  my  lord.” 

Ill2 

[To  the  king,  my  lord,  [speak,]  saying,  Eb]ed-Hepa,  thy  servant.  [Unto  the 
feet]  of  my  lord  seven  [times  and  seven  times  I  prostrate  myself].  [I  have  heard 

all]  the  words  [which  the  king,  my  lord,]  has  sent  to  me . Behold  the 

deed  which . has  done .  Copper . word . 

He  has  brought  [into  the  city  Keilah].  [Cf.  Josh.  15  :  44.]  May  the  king  know 
that  all  the  lands  are  gone  and  there  is  enmity  against  me.  So  may  the  king 
care  for  his  land!  Behold  the  land  of  the  city  Gezer,  the  land  of  the  city  Askelon 
and  the  city  of  Lakish  have  given  them  food,  oil,  and  all  kinds  of  herbs.  So  may 
the  king  give  attention  to  the  mercenaries!  May  he  send  mercenaries  against 
the  people  who  commit  outrages  against  the  king,  my  lord!  If  there  are  in  this 

1  Winckler  und  Abel,  No.  102;  Knudtzon,  286. 

2  Winckler  und  Abel,  op.  cit.,  No.  103;  Knudtzon,  op.  cit.,  No.  287. 


SOME  LETTERS  FROM  PALESTINE 


347 


year  mercenaries,  then  there  will  remain  lands  and  prefects  to  the  king,  my  lord. 
But  if  there  are  no  mercenaries,  there  will  be  no  lands  and  prefects  to  the  king. 
Behold  this  land  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem — neither  my  father  nor  my  mother 
gave  it  to  me;  the  mighty  hand,  the  arm  of  the  king  gave  it  to  me.  Behold  this 
deed;  it  is  the  deed  of  Malkiel  and  the  deed  of  the  sons  of  Labaya,  who  have 
given  the  land  of  the  king  to  the  Habiri.  Behold,  O  king,  my  lord,  right  is  on 
my  side  as  regards  the  Kashi-people.  Let  the  king  ask  the  governors  whether 
that  house  is  very  mighty  and  they  have  committed  a  grievous,  a  great  sin;  they 

have  taken  their  weapons  and  have  cut  off  the  horsemen  (?) . And  may 

he  send  into  that  land . who . with . servants.  May 

[the  king]  care  for  them . the  lands  in  their  hands  [and]  may 

the  king  provide  for  them  much  food,  much  oil,  much  clothing  until  Paru,  the 
governor  of  the  king,  comes  up  to  the  country  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem.  Gone  is 
Addaya,  together  with  the  guards  of  the  vassals  whom  the  king  appointed.  Let 
the  king  know  that  Addaya  said  to  me:  “Behold,  I  am  going  away;  do  not  thou 
abandon  it”  (the  city).  This  year  send  me  men  as  guards  and  a  governor,  O 

king!  Send  us . I  have  sent  to  the  king,  my  lord . ,  people, 

five  thousand . three  hundred  and  eighteen  porters  for  the  caravans  of 

the  king.  They  were  indeed  captured  in  the  fields  near  the  city  Aijalon.  (Cf. 
Josh.  10  :  12.)  Let  the  king,  my  lord,  know  that  I  am  not  able  to  send  a  caravan 
to  the  king,  my  lord.  Indeed  thou  knowest  it.  Behold  the  king  has  set  his 
name  in  the  country  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem  forever  and  he  ought  not  to  aban¬ 
don  the  lands  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem. 

To  the  scribe  of  the  king,  my  lord,  has  Ebed-Hepa,  thy  servant  spoken,  saying: 
At  the  feet  I,  thy  servant,  prostrate  myself.  Take  beautiful  words  to  the  king, 
my  lord!  A  vassal  of  the  king  am  I,  exceedingly  loyal  (?)  as  regards  thee.  Also 
an  evil  deed  has  been  done  against  me  by  the  men  of  Kashi.  I  was  all  but  killed 
by  the  men  of  Kashi  in  my  house.  May  the  king  make  investigation  concerning 
them.  Seven  times  and  seven  times,  O  king,  justice  is  on  my  .side. 

iyi 

To  the  king,  my  lord,  my  sun-god,  speak,  saying,  Ebed-Hepa,  thy  servant. 
At  the  feet  of  the  king,  my  lord,  seven  times  and  seven  times  I  prostrate  myself. 
Behold  the  king,  my  lord,  has  set  his  name  at  the  rising  of  the  sun  and  the  setting 
of  the  sun.  It  is  slander  which  they  have  multiplied  against  me.  Behold  I  am 
not  a  prefect;  a  vassal  of  the  king,  my  lord,  am  I.  Behold  I  am  a  shepherd  of  the 
king  and  one  who  brings  tribute  to  the  king,  am  I.  Neither  my  father  nor  my 

mother,  but  the  arm  of  the  mighty  king  set  me  in  the  house  of  my  father . 

There  came  unto  me . I  gave  10  slaves  into  his  hand.  Shuta,  the  governor 

of  the  king,  came  unto  me.  Twenty-one  female  slaves  and  eighty  prisoners  I 
gave  into  the  hand  of  Shuta  as  a  present  to  the  king,  my  lord.  Let  the  king  take 
counsel  for  his  land!  Lost  is  the  land  of  the  king.  All  of  it  is  taken  from  me. 
Enmity  is  against  me.  As  far  as  the  lands  of  Seir  and  as.  far  as  .Gath-Carmel 
there  is  peace  among  all  the  prefects,  but  enmity  against  me  is  practised.  When  I 
sent  a  man,  then  he  said :  “I  do  not  see  the  eyes  of  the  king,  my  lord,  for  hostility 
is  against  me.”  I  set  once  a  ship  on  the  sea  when  the  mighty  arm  of  the  king 
took  Naharina  and  Kapasi,  but,  behold  the  Habiri  take  the  cities  of  the  king. 
There  is  no  prefect  to  the  king,  my  lord;  all  are  lost.  Behold  Turbazu  was  killed 
in  the  city  gate  of  Zilu  and  the  king  is  inactive!  Behold  Zimridda  of  Lakish;  his 
servants  were  enraged  at  him;  he  adhered  to  the  Habiri.  Yapti-Adda  was 
killed  in  the  city  gate  of  Zilu  and  there  is  no  action!  Concerning  it  the  king 
makes  no  inquiry!  Let  the  king  care  for  his  land  and  let  the  king  turn  his  face 

1  Winckler  und  Abel,  No.  104;  Knudtzon,  No.  288. 


348 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


to  mercenaries  for  the  land  of  tribute!  For  if  there  are  no  mercenaries  in  this 
year,  lost,  perished  are  all  the  lands  of  the  king,  my  lord.  Let  not  one  say  in  the 
presence  of  the  king,  my  lord,  that  the  land  of  the  king,  my  lord,  is  lost  and  all 
the  prefects  are  lost.  If  there  are  no  mercenaries  in  this  year,  then  let  the  king 
send  a  governor  to  bring  me  and  my  brothers  unto  thee  and  we  will  die  with  the 
king,  our  lord. 

To  the  scribe  of  the  king,  my  lord,  saying,  Ebed-Hepa,  thy  servant.  At  thy 
feet  I  prostrate  myself.  Bring  beautiful  words  to  the  king.  Emphatically  thy 
servant  and  thy  son  am  I. 

V1 

To  the  king,  my  lord,  speak,  saying,  Ebed-Hepa,  thy  servant.  At  the  feet  of 
my  lord  I  prostrate  myself  seven  times  and  seven  times.  Behold  Malkiel,  he 
has  not  separated  himself  from  the  sons  of  Labaya  and  from  the  sons  of  Arzaya 
that  they  may  seek  the  hand  of  the  king  for  themselves.  A  prefect  who  has 
done  this  deed — why  does  not  the  king  call  him  to  account?  Behold  Malkiel  and 
Tagi — the  deed  which  they  have  done  is  this:  formerly  they  took  Rabuda  and 
now  they  seek  Jerusalem.  If  this  land  belongs  to  the  king,  why  is  it  oppressed? 
Gaza  has  sided  with  the  king.  Behold  the  land  of  Gath-Carmel  belongs  to  Tagi 
and  the  people  of  Gath  are  on  guard  in  Beth-shean,  and  verily  it  will  happen  to  us 
when  Labaya  and  the  land  of  Shechem  have  been  given  to  the  Habiri.  Malkiel 
has  written  to  Tagi  and  his  sons:  “Let  our  two  forces  grant  all  their  desire  to  the 
people  of  Keilah.”  Shall  we  indeed  throw  open  Jerusalem?  The  guards,  whom 
thou  didst  send  by  the  hand  of  Haya,  son  of  Miare,  Addaya  took,  stationing  them 
in  his  house  in  Gaza  and  twenty  men  has  he  sent  to  Egypt.  Let  the  king  know 
that  there  are  no  royal  guards  with  me!  It  is  so  as  the  king  lives!  Verily  Turn 
is  beaten.  He  has  gone  from  me  and  is  in  Gaza.  May  the  king  remember  it  and 
may  the  king  send  fifty  men  as  guards  to  protect  the  land!  All  the  lands  of  the 
king  are  in  revolt.  Send  Yinhenhame  and  let  him  care  for  the  land  of  the  king. 
To  the  scribe  of  the  king,  my  lord,  say:  Ebed-Hepa,  thy  servant.  Beautiful 
words  give  to  the  king.  Ever  emphatically  am  I  thy  servant. 

VI2 

To  the  king,  my  lord,  speak,  saying,  Ebed-Hepa,  thy  servant.  At  the  feet  of 
the  king,  my  lord,  seven  times  and  seven  times  I  prostrate  myself.  Behold  the 
deed  which  Malkiel  and  Shuardatu  have  done  against  the  country  of  the  king, 
my  lord!  They  have  won  over  the  soldiers  of  Gezer,  the  soldiers  of  Gath,  and 
the  soldiers  of  Keilah;  they  have  seized  the  country  of  the  city  of  Rubute.  The 
country  of  the  king  is  fallen  away  to  the  Habiri.  And  now  also  a  city  of  the 
country  of  J  erusalein  (its  name  is  Beth-shemesh),3  a  city  of  the  king,  has  gone 
over  to  the  men  of  Keilah.  May  the  king  hearken  unto  Ebed-Hepa,  thy  servant, 
and  send  mercenaries  that  the  land  of  the  king  may  remain  unto  the  king.  If 
there  are  no  mercenaries,  lost  is  the  land  of  the  king  to  the  Habiri.  This  is  the 

deed  which  Malkiel  and  Shuardatu  have  done . May  the  king  care 

for  his  land! 

3.  Their  Light  upon  Conditions  in  the  Period  of  the  Egyptian 
Domination  of  Palestine. 

These  letters  are  among  the  most  interesting  of  the  many  fasci¬ 
nating  documents  which  have  come  to  us  from  ancient  times.  They 

1  Winckler  und  Abel,  No.  105  plus  No.  199;  Knudtzon,  No.  289. 

1  Winckler  und  Abel,  No.  106;  Knudtzon,  No.  290. 

3  The  tablet  reads  Beth-Ninib,  but  scholars  are  agreed  that  it  refers  to  Beth-shemesh. 


SOME  LETTERS  FROM  PALESTINE 


349 


give  us  our  first  historical  glimpse  of  Jerusalem,  giving  us  a  view  of 
it  350  years  before  its  capture  by  David.  At  this  time  its  ruler 
was  one  Ebed-Hepa,  a  vassal  of  Amenophis  IV,  King  of  Egypt. 
Jerusalem  was  at  the  time  the  capital  of  a  considerable  territory. 
If  the  places  mentioned  have  been  rightly  identified  by  scholars,  its 
dominion  extended  to  Mount  Carmel  on  the  northwest  and  as  far 
as  Rabbith  in  Issachar  on  the  north.  At  the  time  these  letters 
were  written,  Jerusalem  was  hard  pressed  by  some  invaders  called 
Habiri,  and  Ebed-Hepa  again  and  again  appeals  to  the  Egyptian 
king  to  send  mercenaries  in  that  year  or  all  the  territories  of  the  king 
would  be  lost.  Already  the  Egyptian  army  was  composed  in  part 
of  hired  soldiers.  We  know  from  Egyptian  sources  that  Amenophis 
was  much  more  interested  in  religious  reform  than  in  statecraft. 
The  desired  troops  were  not  sent,  and  apparently  Ebed-Hepa  was 
overcome,  for  his  letters  cease. 

The  condition  of  Palestine,  as  revealed  by  these  letters,  is  the 
same  as  that  of  Phoenicia  as  revealed  by  the  letters  of  Rib-Adda. 
Egyptian  authority  was  breaking  up ;  each  ruler  was  doing  his  best 
to  look  after  his  own  interests;  while  invaders  were  overrunning 
the  country. 

Who  was  Ebed-Hepa?  All  that  we  know  of  him  is  told  in  these 
letters.  Hepa  was,  however,  the  name  of  a  Hittite  and  Mitannian 
goddess.  It  has,  accordingly,  been  inferred  that  Ebed-Hepa  be¬ 
longed  to  that  race.  Ezekiel  long  afterward  in  speaking  to  Jeru¬ 
salem  said:  “The  Amorite  was  thy  father  and  thy  mother  was  a  Hit¬ 
tite”  (Ezek.  16  :  3, 45).  If  this  first  ruler  of  Jerusalem  known  to  us 
was  a  Hittite,  as  seems  probable,  it  would  be  a  striking  confirmation 
of  Ezekiel’s  statement.  Another  interesting  question  is:  Who  were 
the  Habiri  who  were  invading  Palestine  when  these  letters  were 
written?  The  answer  to  this  question  is  not  certain.  Four  differ¬ 
ent  views  have  been  held : 

1.  They  have  been  thought  to  be  the  same  as  the  clan  Heber 
which  was  afterward  a  part  of  the  tribe  of  Asher,  and  which  is  also 
mentioned  in  connection  with  Malkiel  in  Gen.  46  :  17;  Num.  26  :  45, 
and  1  Chron.  7S :  31.  The  objection  to  this  view  is  that  the  Habiri 
seem  far  too  powerful  in  these  letters  to  be  simply  the  ancestors  of 
such  a  clan. 

2.  It  has  been  held  that  the  Habiri  were  a  branch  of  the  Hittites. 
This  view  is  based  upon  the  fact  that  among  the  tablets  found  by 
Winckler  at  Boghaz  Koi  a  list  of  Hittite  gods  was  headed  “gods  of 


350 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


the  Habiri.”  This  is,  however,  not  decisive,  as  the  gods  may  have 
been  Semitic  gods,  whom,  after  the  fashion  of  antiquity,  the  Hittite 
scribe  had  identified  with  the  deities  of  his  own  country. 

3.  It  has  been  held  that  the  Habiri  were  Hebrews,  and  that  we 
have  here  contemporary  records  of  their  wars  of  conquest. 

4.  Some  scholars  maintain  that  it  is  impossible  to  tell  who  the 
Habiri  were. 

The  writer  is  inclined  to  hold  that  the  Habiri  were  Hebrews, 
though  this  view  is  not  without  difficulty.  The  indications  of  the 
book  of  Exodus  point  to  Ramses  II  as  the  Pharaoh  of  the  oppression 
and  to  Merneptah  as  the  Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus.  These  kings 
belonged  to  the  nineteenth  dynasty,  while  Amenophis  IV,  to 
whom  Ebed-Hepa  wrote  his  letters,  belonged  to  the  eighteenth. 
How  then  could  Hebrews  be  already  in  Palestine  struggling  to  con¬ 
quer  it?  The  view  has  been  held  by  a  number  of  scholars  that  the 
Hebrew  conquest  took  place  in  two  parts,  one  of  which  was  under 
the  eighteenth  and  the  other  under  the  nineteenth  dynasty.  The 
view  is  not  without  its  difficulties,  but  it  may  prove  to  be  true.  If 
the  Habiri  were  Hebrews,  it  seems  necessary  to  suppose  that  it  is 
true.  Perhaps  further  discovery  will  throw  more  light  upon  it. 

The  following  letter,  found  in  1892  at  Tell  el-Hesy  (Lachish)  in 
Palestine,  belongs  to  the  same  period  as  the  preceding  letters.1 

To  the  chief  officer  speak,  saying:  Pabi — at  thy  feet  I  prostrate  myself.  Thou 
shouldst  know  that  Shiptibaal  and  Zimrida  are  conspiring  together  and  Shipti- 
baal  has  said  to  Zimrida:  “My  father  of  the  city  Yarami  has  written  to  me:  ‘Give 
me  six  bows  and  three  daggers  and  three  swords.  If  I  go  out  against  the  land  of 
the  king  and  thou  wilt  be  the  breath  of  life  tt>  me,  then  I  shall  surely  (?)  be  supe¬ 
rior  to  it  and  shall  subdue  it.’  He  who  makes  this  plan  is  Pabu,  so  send  him  to 
me.”  Now  I  have  sent  thee  Raphiel.  He  will  bring  to  the  chief  officer  news 
of  this  matter. 

Another  letter  from  Taanach  belongs  to  the  same  general  period. 
It  is  one  of  four  found  by  Sellin  in  1903.  It  is  as  follows:2 

To  Ishtarwashur  speak,  saying,  Ahijah3 — may  the  lord  of  the  gods  protect 
thy  life!  Thou  art  my  brother  and  love  is  in  thy  bowels  and  in  my  heart.  When 
I  was  detained  in  Gurra  a  workman  gave  to  me  two  knives  and  a  lance  and  two 
baskets  (?)  for  nothing.  As  the  lance  was  broken,  he  will  repair  it  and  send  it  by 
the  hand  of  Buritpi.  Again:  is  there  lamentation  over  thy  cities,  or  hast  thou 
indeed  put  thyself  in  possession  of  them?  Over  my  head  is  one  who  is  over  the 

1  For  the  text  cf.  Hilprecht,  Old' Babylonian  Inscriptions,  No.  17.  See  also  Knudtzon,  El- 
Amarna  Tafeln,  No.  333. 

2  Published  by  Hrozny  in  Sellin’s  Tell-Taanek,  pp.  115  and  121. 

*  In  the  Babylonian  script,  Ahi-ya-mi. 


SOME  LETTERS  FROM  PALESTINE 


351 


cities.  Now  let  us  see  whether  he  will  do  good  to  thee.  If  his  countenance  is 
favorable  there  will  be  great  destruction.  Further:  let  Ilurabi  enter  Rahab  and 
either  send  my  man  to  thy  presence  or  give  him  protection. 

This  letter  is  chiefly  interesting  for  the  name  Ahi-ya-mi,  which 
is  probably  the  Babylonian  equivalent  of  Ahijah  or  Ahi-Yahweh. 
If  this  is  so,  and,  while  not  certain,  there  is  considerable  collateral 
evidence  in  its  favor,1  the  divine  name,  Yahweh  (Jehovah),  was 
already  known  in  Palestine. 

Another  phrase  in  this  letter  which  has  recalled  to  some  a  Biblical 
phrase  is  “the  lord  of  the  gods.”  This  has  been  compared  with 
Baal-berith  (i.  e.,  lord  of  the  covenant),  Judges  9  : 4,  who  is  later 
called  El-berith  (god  of  the  covenant),  Judges  9  :  46.  Such  a  com¬ 
parison  is,  however,  somewhat  fanciful. 

1  See  the  writer’s  article,  “Yahweh  before  Moses,”  in  Studies  in  the  History  of  Religions  Presented 
to  C.  H.  Toy,  especially  pp.  188-191. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


DOCUMENTS  FROM  THE  TIME  OF  ISRAEL’S  JUDGES 

Report  of  Wenamon.  Its  Illustration  of  Certain  Points  of  Biblical  History 

ABOUT  THE  TlME  OF  DEBORAH  OR  GlDEON.  REFERENCE  TO  THE  PHILISTINES. 

The  following  vivid  story  of  adventure  dates  from  about  1100 
b.  c.  and  throws  a  vivid  light  on  the  condition  of  the  coast-lands  of 
Palestine  and  Phoenicia  about  the  middle  of  the  period  of  the  Judges. 
1.  Report  of  Wenamon.1 

Year  five,  third  month  of  the  third  season  (eleventh  month),  day  16,  day  of 
departure  of  the  “eldest  of  the  hall,”  of  the  house  of  Amon,  the  lord  of  the  lands, 
Wenamon,  to  bring  the  timber  for  the  great  and  august  barge  of  Amon-Re,  king 
of  the  gods,  which  is  on  the  river . called:  “Userhet”  of  Amon. 

On  the  day  of  my  arrival  at  Tanis  at  the  palace  of  Nesubenebded  and  Ten- 
tamon,  I  gave  to  them  the  writings  of  Amon-Re,  king  of  the  gods,  which  they 
caused  to  be  read  in  their  presence;  and  they  said:  “I  will  do  it,  I  will  do  it  ac¬ 
cording  to  that  which  Amon-Re,  king  of  our  gods,  our  lord,  saith.”  I  abode 
until  the  fourth  month  of  the  third  season,  being  in  Tanis. 

Nesubenebded  and  Tentamon  sent  me  with  the  ship-captain,  Mengebet,  and 
I  descended  into  the  great  Syrian  sea,  in  the  fourth  month  of  the  third  season,  on 
the  first  day.  I  arrived  at  Dor,  a  city  of  Thekel  [a  people  kindred  to  the  Philis¬ 
tines],  and  Bedel,  its  king,  caused  to  be  brought  for  me  much  bread,  a  jar  of  wine, 
and  a  joint  of  beef. 

Then  a  man  of  my  ship  fled,  having  stolen: 

. .  [vessels]  of  gold,  [amounting  to]  5  deben 
4  vessels  of  silver,  amounting  to  20  deben 
a  sack  of  silver  11  deben 

[Total  of  what]  he  [stole]  5  deben  of  gold. 

31  deben  of  silver. 

In  the  morning  then  I  rose  and  went  to  the  abode  of  the  prince,  and  said  to 
him:  “I  have  been  robbed  in  thy  harbor.  Since  thou  art  the  king  of  this  land, 
thou  art  therefore  its  investigator,  who  should  search  for  my  money.  For  the 
money  belongs  to  Amon-Re,  king  of  the  gods,  lord  of  the  lands;  it  belongs  to 
Nesubenebded,  and  it  belongs  to  Hrihor,  my  lord,  and  the  other  magnates  of 
Egypt;  it  belongs  also  to  Weret,  and  to  Mekmel,  and  to  Zakar-Baal,  the  prince 
of  Byblos”  [Gebal].  He  said  to  me:  “To  thy  honor  and  thy  excellence!  but, 
behold,  I  know  nothing  of  this  complaint  which  thou  hast  lodged  with  me.  If 
the  thief  belonged  to  my  land,  he  who  went  on  board  thy  ship,  that  he  might  steal 
thy  treasure,  I  would  repay  it  to  thee  from  my  treasury  till  they  find  thy  thief 
by  name;  but  the  thief  who  robbed  thee  belongs  to  thy  ship.  Tarry  a  few  days 
here  with  me,  and  I  will  seek  him.”  When  I  had  spent  nine  days  moored  in  his 
harbor,  I  went  to  him  and  said  to  him :  “Behold,  thou  hast  not  found  my  money, 

1  Taken  from  Breasted’s  Ancient  Records,  Egypt,  IV,  pp.  278,  ff. 


352 


FROM  THE  TIME  OF  ISRAEL’S  JUDGES  353 


therefore  let  me^depart  with  the  ship-captain,  and  with  those  who  go . 

the  sea.  He  said  to  me:  “Be  silent . ” . the  harbor 

. [I  arrived  at]  Tyre.  I  went  forth  from  Tyre  at  early  dawn 

. Zakar-Baal,  the  prince  of  Byblos  [Gebal]. 

. the . I  found  30  deben  of  silver  therein.  I  seized  it, 

[saying  to  them:  “I  will  take]  your  money,  and  it  shall  remain  with  me  until  ye 
find  [my  money.  Was  it  not  a  man  of  Thekel]  who  stole  it,  and  no  thief  [of 

ours]?  I  will  take  it . . .  They  went  away,  while  I . 

[I]  arrived . the  harbor  of  Byblos  [Gebal].  [I  made  a  place  of  conceal¬ 

ment,  I  hid]  “Amon-the-way,”  and  I  placed  his  things  in  it.  The  prince  of 
Byblos  sent  to  me,  saying:  “Betake  thyself  from  my  harbor.”  I  sent  to  him, 

saying,  “ . if  they  sail,  let  them  take  me  to  Egypt.” . 

I  spent  nineteen  days  in  his  harbor  and  he  continually  sent  to  me  daily,  saying: 
“Betake  thyself  from  my  harbor.” 

Now,  when  he  sacrificed  to  his  gods . ,  the  god  seized  one  of  his  noble 

youths,  making  him  frenzied,  so  that  he  said :  “Bring  [the  god]  hither!  Bring  the 
messenger  of  Amon  who  hath  him.  Send  him  and  let  him  go.” 

Now,  while  the  frenzied  youth  continued  in  frenzy  during  this  night,  I  found  a 
ship  bound  for  Egypt,  and  I  loaded  all  my  belongings  into  it.  I  waited  for  the 
darkness,  saying:  “When  it  descends,  I  will  embark  the  god  also,  in  order  that  no 
other  eye  may  see  him.” 

The  harbor-master  came  to  me,  saying:  “Remain  until  morning  by  the  prince.” 
I  said  to  him:  “Art  not  thou  he  who  continually  came  to  me  daily,  saying,  ‘Be¬ 
take  thyself  away  from  my  harbor’?  Dost  thou  not  say,  ‘Remain  in  the  [land’], 
in  order  to  let  depart  the  ship  that  I  have  found?  thou  that  mayest  come  and 
say  again,  ‘Away’?  He  went  and  told  it  to  the  prince,  and  the  prince  sent  to  the 
captain  of  the  ship,  saying:  ‘Remain  until  morning  by  the  king.’  ” 

When  morning  came  he  sent  and  had  me  brought  up,  when  the  divine  offering 
occurred  in  the  fortress  where  he  was,  on  the  shore  of  the  sea.  I  found  him 
sitting  in  his  upper  chamber,  leaning  his  back  against  a  window,  while  the  waves 

of  the  great  Syrian  sea  beat  against  the . behind  him.  I  said  to  him: 

“Kindness  of  Amon!”  He  said  to  me:  “How  long  is  it  until  this  day  since  thou 
earnest  away  from  the  abode  of  Amon?”  I  said:  “Five  months  and  one  day 
until  now.” 

He  said  to  me:  “Behold  thou  art  true,  where  is  the  writing  of  Amon,  which  is 
in  thy  hand?  Where  is  the  letter  of  the  High  Priest  of  Amon,  which  is  in  thy 
hand?”  I  said  to  him:  “I  gave  them  to  Nesubenebded  and  Tentamon.”  Then 
he  was  very  wroth,  and  he  said  to  me:  “Now,  behold,  the  writing  and  the  letter 
are  not  in  thy  hand!  Where  is  the  ship  of  cedar  which  Nesubenebded  gave  to 
thee?  Where  is  its  Syrian  crew?  He  would  not  deliver  thy  business  to  this 

ship-captain . to  have  thee  killed,  that  they  might  cast  thee  into  the  sea. 

From  whom  would  they  have  sought  the  god  then?  And  thee,  from  whom  would 
they  have  sought  thee  then?”  So  he  spake  to  me.  I  said  to  him:  “There  are 
indeed  Egyptian  ships  and  Egyptian  crews  who  sail  under  Nesubenebded,  (but) 
he  hath  no  Syrian  crews.”  He  said  to  me:  “There  are  surely  twenty  ships  here 
in  my  harbor,  which  are  in  connection  with  Nesubenebded;  and  at  Sidon,  whither 
thou  wouldst  go,  there  are  indeed  10,000  ships  also  which  are  in  connection  with 
Berket-el  and  sail  to  his  house.” 

Then  I  was  silent  in  this  great  hour.  He  answered  and  said  to  me:  “On  what 
business  hast  thou  come  hither?”  I  said  to  him:  “I  have  come  after  the  timber 
of  the  great  and  august  barge  of  Amon-Re,  king  of  gods.  Thy  father  did  it,  thy 
grandfather  did  it,  and  thou  wilt  also  do  it.”  So  spake  I  to  him. 

He  said  to  me:  “They  did  it,  truly.  If  thou  give  me  (something)  for  doing  it,  I 

will  do  it.  Indeed  my  agents  transacted  the  business;  the  Pharaoh, . 

sent  six  ships,  laden  with  the  products  of  Egypt,  and  they  were  unloaded  in  their 


354 


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storehouses.  And  thou  also  shalt  bring  something  for  me.”  He  had  the  journal 
of  his  fathers  brought  in,  and  he  had  them  read  it  before  me.  They  found  1,000 
deben  of  every  (kind  of)  silver,  which  was  in  his  book. 

He  said  to  me:  “If  the  ruler  of  Egypt  were  the  owmer  of  my  property,  and  I 
were  also  his  servant,  he  would  not  send  silver  and  gold,  saying:  ‘Do  the  com¬ 
mand  of  Amon.’  It  was  not  the  payment  of  tribute  which  they  exacted  of  my 
father.  As  for  me,  I  am  myself  neither  thy  servant  nor  am  I  the  servant  of  him 
that  sent  thee.  If  I  cry  out  to  the  Lebanon,  the  heavens  open,  and  the  logs  lie 
here  on  the  shore  of  the  sea.” 

A  long  speech  of  Wenamon  follows,  in  which  he  claims  Egypt 
as  the  home  of  civilization,  and  claims  Lebanon  for  Amon.  He 
then  continues: 

“Let  my  scribe  be  brought  to  me,  that  I  may  send  him  to  Nesubenebded  and 
Tentamon,  the  rulers  whom  Amon  hath  given  to  the  north  of  his  land,  and  they 
will  send  all  that  of  which  I  shall  write  unto  them,  saying:  ‘Let  it  be  brought,’ 
until  I  return  to  the  south  and  send  thee  all  thy  trifles  again.”  So  spake  I  to  him. 

He  gave  my  letter  into  the  hand  of  his  messenger.  He  loaded  in  the  keel,  the 
head  of  the  bow  and  the  head  of  the  stern,  with  four  other  hewn  timbers,  to¬ 
gether  seven;  and  he  had  them  taken  to  Egypt.  His  messenger  went  to  Egypt, 
and  returned  to  me,  to  Syria  in  the  first  month  of  the  second  season.  Nesuben¬ 
ebded  and  Tentamon  sent: 

Gold:  4  Tb-ve ssels,  1  K’k-mn-ve ssel; 

Silver:  5  Tb-ve  ssels; 

Royal  linen:  10  garments,  10  hm-hrd ; 

Papyrus:  500  rolls; 

Ox-hides:  500; 

Rope:  500  (coils); 

Lentils:  20  measures; 

Fish:  30  measures; 

She1  sent  me: 

Linen  5 . ,5  hm-hrd; 

Lentils:  1  measure; 

Fish:  5  measures. 

The  prince  rejoiced,  and  detailed  300  men  and  300  oxen,  placing  overseers 
over  them,  to  have  the  trees  felled.  They  spent  the  second  season  therewith .... 
In  the  third  month  of  the  second  season  (seventh  month)  they  dragged  them  [to] 
the  shore  of  the  sea.  The  prince  came  forth  and  stood  by  them. 

He  sent  to  me,  saying:  “Come.”  Now,  when  I  had  presented  myself  before 
him,  the  shadow  of  his  sunshade  fell  upon  me.  Penamon,  a  butler,  he  stepped 

between  us,  saying:  “The  shadow  of  Pharaoh . ,  thy  lord,  falls  upon  thee.” 

He  was  angry  with  him,  saying:  “Let  him  alone!”  I  presented  myself  before 
him,  and  he  answered  and  said  unto  me:  “Behold  the  command  which  my  fathers 
formerly  executed,  I  have  executed,  although  thou  for  thy  part  hast  not  done 
for  me  that  which  thy  fathers  did  for  me.  Behold  there  has  arrived  the  last  of 
thy  timber,  and  there  it  lies.  Do  according  to  my  desire  and  come  to  load  it, 
for  they  will  indeed  give  it  to  thee.” 

“Come  not  to  contemplate  the  terror  of  the  sea,  (but)  if  thou  dost  contemplate 
the  terror  of  the  sea,  thou  shalt  (also)  contemplate  mine  own.  Indeed  I  have 
not  done  to  thee  that  which  they  did  to  the  messengers  of  Khamwese,  when  they 
spent  seventeen  years  in  this  land.  They  died  in  their  place.”  He  said  to  his 
butler;  “Take  him,  and  let  him  see  their  tomb,  wherein  they  sleep.” 

1  '“She”  refers  to  Tentamon,  the  queen. 


FROM  THE  TIME  OF  ISRAEL’S  JUDGES  355 


I  said  to  him:  “Let  me  not  see  it!  As  for  Khamwese,  (mere)  people  were  the 

messengers  whom  he  sent  unto  thee;  but  people . there  was  no  [god 

among]  his  messengers.  And  yet  thou  sayest,  ‘Go  and  see  thy  companions.’ 
Lo,  art  thou  not  glad?  and  dost  thou  not  have  made  for  thee  a  tablet,  whereon 
thou  sayest:  ‘Amon-Re,  king  of  gods,  sent  to  me  “Amon-the-way,”  his  [divine] 
messenger,  and  Wenamon,  his  human  messenger,  after  the  timber  for  the  great 
and  august  barge  of  Amon-Re,  king  of  gods?  I  felled  it,  I  loaded  it,  I  supplied 
him  (with)  my  ships  and  my  crewrs,  I  brought  them  to  Egypt,  to  beseech  for  me 
10,000  years  of  life  from  Amon,  more  than  my  ordained  (life),  and  it  came  to 
pass.’  Then  in  future  days  when  a  messenger  comes  from  the  land  of  Egypt,  who 
is  able  to  write,  and  reads  thy  name  upon  the  stela,  thou  shalt  receive  water  in 
the  west,  like  the  gods  who  are  there.”  He  said  to  me:  “It  is  a  great  testimony 
which  thou  tellest  me.” 

I  said  to  him:  “As  for  the  many  things  which  thou  hast  said  to  me,  when  I 
reach  the  place  of  the  abode  of  the  High  Priest  of  Amon,  and  he  shall  see  thy 
command  in  thy  command,  [he]  will  have  something  delivered  to  thee.” 

I  went  to  the  shore  of  the  sea,  to  the  place  where  the  timbers  lay;  I  spied  eleven 
ships,  coming  from  the  sea,  belonging  to  the  Thekel,  saying:  “Arrest  him!  Let 
not  a  ship  of  his  pass  to  Egypt!”  I  sat  down  and  began  to  weep.  The  letter- 
scribe  of  the  prince  came  out  to  me,  and  said  to  me:  “What  is  the  matter  with 
thee?”  I  said  to  him:  “Surely  thou  seest  these  birds  which  twice  descend  upon 
Egypt.  Behold  them!  They  come  to  the  pool,  and  how  long  shall  I  be  here, 
forsaken?  For  thou  seest  surely  those  who  come  to  arrest  me  again.” 

He  went  and  told  it  to  the  prince.  The  prince  began  to  weep  at  the  evil  words 
which  they  spoke  to  him.  He  sent  out  his  letter-scribe  to  me  and  brought  me 
two  jars  of  wine  and  a  ram.  He  sent  to  me  Tento,  an  Egyptian  singer  (feminine) , 
who  was  with  him,  saying:  “Sing  for  him;  let  not  his  heart  feel  apprehension.” 
He  sent  to  me,  saying:  “Eat,  drink,  and  let  not  thy  heart  feel  apprehension. 
Thou  shalt  hear  all  that  I  have  to  say  unto  thee  in  the  morning.” 

Morning  came,  he  had  (the  Thekel)  called  into  his . ,  he  stood  in  their 

midst  and  said  to  the  Thekel:  “Why  have  ye  come?”  They  said  to  him:  “We 

have  come  after  the  stove-up  ships  which  thou  sendest  to  Egypt  with  our . . 

comrades.”  He  said  to  them:  “I  cannot  arrest  the  messenger  of  Amon  in  my 
land.  Let  me  send  him  away,  and  ye  shall  pursue  him,  to  arrest  him.” 

He  loaded  me  on  board,  he  sent  me  away.  . .  .to  the  harbor  of  the  sea.  The 
wind  drove  me  to  the  land  of  Alasa  [Cyprus] ;  those  of  the  city  came  forth  to  me 
to  slay  me.  I  was  brought  among  them  to  the  abode  of  Heteb,  the  queen  of 
the  city.  I  found  her  as  she  was  going  forth  from  her  houses  and  entering 
into  her  other  [house].  I  saluted  her,  I  asked  the  people  who  stood  about  her: 
“There  is  surely  one  among  you  who  understands  Egyptian?”  One  among 
them  said:  “I  understand  (it) .”  I  said  to  him:  “Say  to  my  mistress:  ‘I  have  heard 
as  far  as  Thebes,  the  abode  of  Amon,  that  in  every  city  injustice  is  done,  but 
that  justice  is  done  in  the  land  of  Alasa;  (but),  lo,  injustice  is  done  every  day 
here.’”  She  said:  “Indeed!  what  is  this  that  thou  sayest?”  I  said  to  her:  “If 
the  sea  raged  and  the  wind  drove  me  to  land  where  I  am,  thou  wilt  not  let  them 
take  advantage  of  me  to  slay  me,  I  being  a  messenger  of  Amon.  I  am  one  whom 
they  will  seek  unceasingly.  As  for  the  crew  of  the  prince  of  Byblos  whom  they 
sought  to  kill,  their  lord  will  surely  find  ten  crews  of  thine,  and  he  will  slay  them 
on  his  part.”  She  had  the  people  called  and  stationed  (before  her);  she  said  to 
me:  “Pass  the  night . ” 


Here  the  papyrus,  which  contains  this  vivid  personal  narrative 
of  travel,  is  broken  off  and  the  rest  of  the  story  is  lost.  We  may  be 


356 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


sure  that  Wenamon  escaped  from  Cyprus  and  succeeded  in  reaching 
Egypt  again,  or  the  story  would  never  have  been  told. 

2.  Its  Illustration  of  Certain  Points  of  Biblical  History. 

The  story  illustrates  well  a  number  of  points  in  Biblical  history. 
This  adventure  was  approximately  contemporary  with  the  career 
of  Deborah  or  of  Gideon.  It  shows  that  the  city  of  Dor,  which  was 
situated  on  the  coast  just  south  of  Mount  Carmel,  was  in  the  posses¬ 
sion  of  a  tribe  kindred  to  the  Philistines,  who  soon  afterward  appear 
in  Biblical  history.  We  also  learn  from  it  that  Egyptian  authority 
in  Palestine  and  Phoenicia,  which  was  at  the  time  of  the  El-Amarna 
letters  so  rapidly  decaying,  had  entirely  disappeared.  Zakar-Baal 
stoutly  asserts  his  independence,  while  the  king  of  the  Thekel  is 
evidently  quite  independent  of  Egypt.  The  way  in  which  these 
petty  kingdoms  deal  with  one  another  is  quite  after  the  manner  of 
the  international  relations  reflected  in  the  book  of  Judges.  The 
expedition  of  Wenamon  to  the  Lebanon  for  cedar  wood  illustrates 
the  way  Solomon  obtained  cedar  for  the  temple. 

Lastly,  the  wTay  one  of  the  noble  youths  became  frenzied  and 
prophesied,  is  quite  parallel  to  the  way  in  wrhich  Saul  “stripped  off 

his  clothes  and  prophesied . and  lay  down  naked  all  that  day 

and  all  that  night”  (1  Sam.  19  :  24).  The  heed  which  Zakar-Baal 
gave  to  this  youth  shows  that  at  Gebal,  as  in  Israel,  such  ecstatic 
or  frenzied  utterances  were  thought  to  be  of  divine  origin.  Later  in 
Israel  this  sort  of  prophecy  became  a  kind  of  profession,  or  trade. 
The  members  of  these  prophetic  guilds  were  called  “sons  of  the 
prophets.”  The  great  literary  prophets  of  Israel  had  nothing  to  do 
with  them.  Amos  is  careful  to  say  that  he  is  not  a  “son  of  a 
prophet”  (Amos  7  :  14). 

3.  Reference  to  the  Philistines. 

Ramses  III  in  his  inscriptions  makes  the  following  statements  :l 

“The  northern  countries  are  unquiet  in  their  limbs,  even  the  Peleset  [Philis¬ 
tines],  the  Thekel,  who  devastate  their  land . ; .  O  my  august 

father  [ i .  e.,  the  god  Amon]  come  to  take  them,  being:  the  Peleset,  the  Denyen 
[Dardanians],  and  the  Shekelesh  [Sicilians] . 

Utterance  of  the  vanquished  Peleset:  “Give  to  us  the  breath  for  our  nostrils, 
O  king,  son  of  Amon.” 

The  Peleset  are  undoubtedly  the  same  people  who  appear  in  the 
Bible  as  the  Philistines.  Ramses  III,  of  the  twentieth  dynasty, 
from  whose  inscriptions  the  above  quotations  are  taken,  reigned 

1  These  statements  are  taken  from  Breasted ’s  Ancient  Records,  Egypt,  IV,  §§  44,  81,  and  82. 


FROM  THE  TIME  OF  ISRAEL’S  JUDGES  357 


from  1198-1167  b.  c.  In  his  reign  the  Philistines  were  coming  over 
the  sea  and  invading  northern  Egypt  along  with  other  wanderers 
from  different  parts  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  Thekel,  the  Danaoi, 
and  the  Sicilians.  Upon  being  repelled  from  Egypt  by  Ramses, 
they  passed  on  and  invaded  Palestine.  As  the  report  of  Wenamon 
shows,  the  Thekel  were  in  possession  of  Dor  by  the  year  1100,  and 
no  doubt  the  Philistines  had  gained  a  foothold  also  in  the  cities 
farther  to  the  south,  where  we  find  them  in  the  Biblical  records 
(Judges  13-16;  1  Sam.  4-7;  13,  14;  17,  18,  etc.). 

Amos  says  the  Philistines  came  from  Caphtor  (Amos  9:7). 
This  has  long  been  supposed  to  be  Crete.  Eduard  Meyer  thinks 
that  confirmation  of  this  has  now  been  found.  A  disc  inscribed  in  a 
peculiar  writing,  which  has  not  yet  been  deciphered,  was  found  in 
July,  1908,  at  Phaestos  in  Crete  in  strata  of  the  third  middle  Minoan 
period,  i.  e.,  about  1600  b.  c.1  This  writing  is  pictographic,  and 
although  not  yet  translated,  appears  to  be  a  contract.2  One  of  the 
frequently  recurring  signs  represents  a  human  head  surmounted  by 
a  shock  of  hair  (see  Fig.  38),  almost  exactly  like  the  hair  of  the 
Philistines  as  they  are  pictured  by  the  artists  of  Ramses  III  on  the 
walls  of  his  palace  at  Medinet  Habu  (see  Fig.  36).  This  sign  was 
probably  the  determinative  for  man.  This  likeness  would  make  the 
proof  of  the  Cretan  origin  of  the  Philistines  complete,  were  it  not 
that  some  scholars  think  that  the  disc  exhumed  at  Phaestos  had  been 
brought  thither  from  across  the  sea.  This  is  possible,  but  does  not 
seem  very  probable.  The  doubt  will,  perhaps,  be  resolved  when  we 
learn  to  read  the  inscription. 

1  See  Evans,  Scripta  Minoa,  Oxford,  1909,  pp.  22,  ff.,  273,  ff. 

*  See  R.  A.  S.  Macalister,  The  Philistines,  Their  History  and  Civilization,  London,  1913,  p.  83,  ff. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  LIGHT  ON  THE  BOOKS  OF  KINGS 

Gudea  and  Cedar-wood  for  his  Palace.  The  Eponym  Canon.  The  Seal  of 
Shema.  Shishak’s  List  of  Conquered  Asiatic  Cities.  Ashurnasirpal’s  Descrip¬ 
tion  of  his  Expedition  to  Mediterranean  Lands.  Shalmaneser  Ill’s  Claims 
Regarding  Tribute  from  the  Kings  of  Israel.  The  Moabite  Stone.  Adadni- 
rari  IV’s  Mention  of  the  “Land  of  Omri.”  Inscription  Describing  Tiglathpi- 
leser  IV’s  Campaign.  Sargon’s  Conquests.  Sennacherib’s  Western  Campaigns. 
The  Siloam  Inscription.  Esarhaddon’s  List  of  Conquered  Kings.  Ashurbani- 
pal’s  Assyrian  Campaign.  Necho  of  Egypt.  Nebuchadrezzar  II.  Evil-Mero- 
dach.  Discoveries  in  Sheba. 

1.  Gudea  and  Cedar-Wood  for  His  Palace. 

Gudea,  a  ruler  of  Lagash  in  Babylonia  (the  modern  Telloh;  see 
p.  45),  who  lived  about  2450  b.  c.,  rebuilt  Eninnu,  the  temple  of 
Ningirsu,  at  Lagash.  In  his  account  of  the  work  he  makes  the 
following  statement:1 

From  Amanus,  the  mountain  of  cedar,  cedar  wood,  the  length  of  which  was 
60  cubits,  cedar-wood,  the  length  of  which  was  50  cubits,  ukarinnu- wood,  the 
length  of  which  was  25  cubits,  for  the  dwelling  he  made;  (from)  their  mountain 
they  were  brought. 

The  Amanus  mountains  lay  along  the  Mediterranean  to  the  north 
of  the  river  Orontes.  They  belong  to  the  same  general  range  as  the 
Lebanons.  Again,  in  the  same  inscription,  Gudea  says:2 

From  Umanu,  the  mountain  of  Menua,  from  Basalla,  the  mountain  of  the 
Amorites,  great  cut  stones  he  brought;  into  pillars  he  made  them  and  in  the 
court  of  Eninrnl  he  erected  them.  From  Tidanu,  the  mountain  of  the  Amorites, 
marble  in  fragments  (?)  he  brought. 

This  passage  shows  that  a  ruler  of  Babylonia  came  to  this  region 
for  cedar-wood  and  stones  for  his  temple,  as  Solomon  is  said  to  have 
done  (1  Kings  5,  especially  vs.  6  and  17;  2  Chron.  2  :  8,  fb). 
That  Egyptian  rulers  did  the  same  is  clearly  shown  by  the  report  of 
Wenamon.  (See  p.  352,  ff.) 

1  See  Sarzec,  Dicouvertes  en  Chaldee,  p.  ix,  col.  v,  28,  ff.  See  also  Thureau-Dangin,  Les  inscrip¬ 
tions  de  Sumer  et  d’ Akkad,  Paris,  1905,  p.  109,  and  his  Sumerischen  und  akkadischen  Konigsin- 
schriften,  Leipzig,  1907,  p.  68,  f. 

2  Ibid.,  col.  vi,  3,  ff. 

358 


LIGHT  ON  THE  BOOKS  OF  KINGS 


359 


2.  The  Eponym  Canon. 

The  Assyrians  kept  chronological  lists  called  by  scholars  “Eponym 
Canons,”  which  are  of  great  importance  in  determining  the  chro- 
nology  of  Hebrew  history  at  a  number  of  obscure  points.  A  trans¬ 
lation  of  them  has  not  been  included  in  this  work,  since  so  few  Bib¬ 
lical  names  occur  in  them  that  they  would  be  of  little  use  except  to 
experts.  Any  who  wish  to  consult  them  will  find  them  translated  in 
Rogers,  Cuneiform  Parallels  to  the  Old  Testament,  pp.  219-238. 

3.  Jeroboam. 

During  Schumacher’s  excavation  at  Megiddo  (see  p.  96),  a  seal 
was  found  in  the  palace;  it  is  shown  in  Fig.  27.  Its  inscription 
reads: 

Belonging  to  Shema,  servant  of  Jeroboam. 

We  have  no  means  of  knowing  whether  the  Jeroboam  referred  to 
was  Jeroboam  I  (1  Kings  12  :  12,  ff.),  or  Jeroboam  II  (2  Kings  14  : 
23,  ff.). 

4.  Shishak. 

Sheshonk  I  (954-924  b.  c.),  the  founder  of  the  twenty-second 
Egyptian  dynasty,  the  Shishak  of  the  Bible  (1  Kings  14  :  25-28), 
has  left  on  the  walls  of  a  pylon  which  he  erected  at  the  temple  of 
Karnak  a  relief  picturing  his  victory.  The  pictures  are  of  the  con¬ 
ventional  type,  but  they  are  accompanied  by  a  list  of  conquered 
Asiatic  cities.  Of  these  the  names  of  about  one-hundred  and  twenty 
are  legible,  though  it  is  possible  to  identify  but  a  small  proportion 
of  these  with  known  localities.  As  it  would  be  of  no  interest  to  the 
general  reader  to  place  before  him  the  Egyptian  spelling  of  unidenti¬ 
fied  place  names,  only  those  are  here  given  which  have  been  identi¬ 
fied  or  have  some  Biblical  interest.  The  numbers  before  each  name 
designate  its  distance  from  the  beginning  of  Sheshonk’s  list. 
Among  his  conquered  towns,  then,  are  the  following:1 

11.  Gimty  =  Gath.  13.  Rub’ty  =  Rabbith  (Josh.  19  :  20).  14.  Tunqy  = 
Taanach  (Josh.  12  :  21;  Judges  5  :  19).  15.  Sh’nm‘y  =  Shunem  (Josh.  19  :  18; 

2  Kings  4  :  8).  16.  B’tysh’nry  =  Beth-shean  (Josh.  17  :  11;  1  Sam.  31  :  10; 

1  Kings  4  :  12).  17.  Rwh’b’iy  =  Rehob  (Judges  1  :  31).  18.  H’pwrwmy  — 

Haphraim  (Josh.  19  :  19).  22.  Myh,nm‘  =  Mahanaim  (Gen.  32  :  2;  Josh.  13  : 

26;  2  Sam.  2  :  8;  17  :  24).  Q-b’-’-n ’  =  Gibeon  (Josh.  10  : 1,  f.).  24.  B’tyhwr’rwn 
=  'Beth-horon  (Josh.  10  :  10;  1  Sam.  13  :  18).  26.  Iywrwn  =  Aijalon  (Josh. 

10  :  12;  19  : 42).  27.  Myqdyw  =  Megiddo  (Josh.  12  :  21;  Judges  1  :  27).  28. 
Idyrw1  =  Edrei  (Num.  21  :  33;  Deut.  1  : 4;  Josh.  12  : 4).  32.  ‘Vm’  =  Elon 

1  Translated  from  W.  Max  Muller’s  Egyptological  Researches ,  Washington,  D.  C.,  1906,  Plates 
75-87,  with  a  comparison  of  Breasted’s  Ancient  Records,  IV,  pp.  350-354. 


360  ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


(Josh.  19  :  43).  38.  Sh’wka  =  Soco  (2  Chron.  11  :  7;  28  :  18).  39.  B’tytpwh  = 
Beth-tapuah  (Josh.  15  :  53).  57.  Dymrwm  =  Zemaraim  (Josh.  18  :  22).  58. 

[M]gdrw  =  Madgala  (Matt.  15  : 39  A.  V.).  71,  72.  P’hwqrw ’  ’b’r’m  =  The 

field  of  Abram.  100.  Iwdri ’  =  Addar  (?)  (Josh.  15  : 3).  124.  B'ty'nt  =  Beth- 

anoth  (?)  (Josh.  15  :  59). 

According  to  1  Kings  14  :  25,  ff.,  Sheshonk’s  campaign  was  directed 
against  Judah,  and  there  is  no  hint  that  the  northern  kingdom 
suffered  too.  This  may  be  because  the  interest  of  the  author  of 
Kings  in  the  house  of  David  and  in  Jerusalem  was  greater  than  his 
interest  in  the  north.  It  is  clear  from  the  list  of  places  just  quoted 
that  Sheshonk  conquered  both  kingdoms.  He  either  took  or  re¬ 
ceived  tribute  from  Megiddo,  Taanach,  Shunem,  and  Beth-shean, 
cities  in  the  great  plain  of  Jezreel,  but  crossed  the  Jordan  and  cap¬ 
tured  Mahanaim  and  Edrei. 

5.  Ashurnasirpal. 

Ashurnasirpal,  King  of  Assyria,  884-860  b.  c.,  in  describing  his 
expedition  to  the  Mediterranean  lands,  makes  the  following  state¬ 
ment:1 

At  that  time  I  marched  along  Mount  Lebanon,  unto  the  great  sea  of  the  land 
of  the  Amorites  I  went  up.  In  the  great  sea  I  cleansed  my  weapons.  I  made 
sacrifices  to  the  gods.  The  tribute  of  the  kings  by  the  side  of  the  sea,  from  the 
land  of  the  Tyrian,  the  land  of  the  Sidonian,  the  land  of  the  Gebalite,  the  land  of 
the  Mahallatite,  the  land  of  the  Maisite,  the  land  of  the  Kaisite,  the  land  of  the 
Amorite,  and  the  city  Arvad,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  sea;  silver,  gold,  lead, 
copper,  copper  vessels,  garments  of  bright  colored  stuffs,  cloth,  a  great  pagutu, 
a  small  pagutu ,  ws/m-wood,  ukarinnu- wood,  teeth  of  a  sperm-whale  porpoise,  a 
creature  of  the  sea,  as  their  tribute  I  received;  they  embraced  my  feet.  To 
Mount  Amanus  I  ascended;  beams  of  cedar,  cypress,  juniper,  pine,  I  cut.  Sac¬ 
rifices  to  my  gods  I  offered.  A  pillar  recording  my  warlike  deeds  I  set  up. 

This  inscription  records  the  first  approach  of  an  Assyrian  king  to 
Hebrew  territory.  He  did  not  actually  come  into  contact  with  the 
Israelites,  though  he  took  tribute  from  their  neighbors,  the  Tyrians 
and  Sidonians.  The  expedition  of  Ashurnasirpal  was,  however,  the 
precursor  of  many  others  which  progressed  further. 

Ashurnasirpal,  like  Gudea  and  Hrihor,  secured  wood  from  this 
region  for  his  buildings,  thus  affording  another  parallel  to  Solomon’s 
procedure. 

6.  Shalmaneser  III. 

Shalmaneser  III,  the  son  and  successor  of  Ashurnasirpal,  reigned 
from  859  to  825  b.  c.  He  not  only  approached  more  closely  to  Pal¬ 
estine,  but  claims  to  have  taken  tribute  from  her  kings.  In  the 

1  See  Le  Gac,  Les  Inscriptions  d’Assur-nasir-aplu  III,  Paris,  1908,  p.  Ill,  line  84,  ff.;  cf.  also 
Rogers,  Cuneiform  Parallels  to  the  Old  Testament,  New  York,  1912,  p.  277,  ff. 


LIGHT  ON  THE  BOOKS  OF  KINGS 


361 


case  of  King  Jehu  the  claim  is  no  doubt  true.  The  following  ex¬ 
tracts  give  the  accounts  in  Shalmaneser’s  own  words.1 

In  the  eponym  year  of  Dan-Ashur  ( i .  e.,  854  b.  c.),  month  Aru,  14th  day,  I 

departed  from  the  city  of  Nineveh;  I  crossed  the  river  Tigris . to  the 

city  Qarqar  I  approached.  Qarqar,  his  royal  city,  I  destroyed,  I  devastated, 
I  burned  with  fire.  1,200  chariots,  1,200  horsemen,  20,000  men  of  Hadadidri 
(Benhadad)  of  Damascus;  700  chariots,  700  horsemen,  10,000  men  of  Irhulina, 
the  Hamathite;  2,000  chariots,  10,000  men  of  Ahab,  the  Israelite;  500  men  of  the 
Quaean  ( i .  e.,  Que,  in  Cilicia);  1,000  men  of  the  Musraean;  10,000  chariots,  10,000 
men  of  the  Irqantaean;  200  men  of  Matinu-ba’li,  the  Arvadite;  200  men  of  the 
Usantaean;  30  chariots,  10,000  men  of  Adunu-ba’li,  the  Shianian;  1,000  camels  of 
Gindibu,  the  Arabian;  1,000  (?)  men  of  Basa,  son  of  Ruhubi,  the  Ammonite — 
these  12  kings  he  took  as  his  helpers  and  they  came  to  make  battle  and  war 
against  me.  With  the  exalted  power  which  Ashur,  the  lord,  had  given  me,  with 
powerful  weapons,  which  Nergal,  who  goes  before  me,  had  presented  me,  I 
fought  with  them;  from  Qarqar  to  Gilzan  I  accomplished  their  defeat.  14,000 
of  their  troops  I  overthrew  with  arms,  like  Adad  I  poured  out  a  flood  upon  them; 
I  flung  afar  their  corpses,  I  filled  the  plain  with  their  mighty  troops.  With 

weapons  I  made  their  blood  to  flow . The  field  was  too  narrow  for 

smiting  (?)  them,  the  broad  plain  (?)  was  used  (?)  for  burying  their  bodies. 
With  their  corpses  I  dammed  the  Orontes  as  with  a  dam  (?).  In  that  battle 
their  chariots,  their  horsemen,  their  horses,  harnesses,  and  yokes  I  took. 

It  is  of  especial  interest  that  Ahab  and  Benhadad,  two  kings 
well  known  from  the  Bible,  formed  a  part  of  the  coalition  that  at¬ 
tempted  to  repel  this  first  Assyrian  invasion.  Shalmaneser’s  claim 
of  victory  is  probably  exaggerated,  for  he  retired  without  further 
effort  to  subdue  the  country.  Had  it  been  as  sweeping  a  triumph 
as  he  would  have  us  believe,  he  would  surely  have  pressed  forward. 

Another  of  his  inscriptions  describes  the  battle  of  Qarqar  as 
follows  :2 

In  the  6th  year  of  my  reign  from  Nineveh  I  set  out . unto  Qarqar 

I  approached.  Hadadidri  of  Damascus,  Irhulina,  the  Hamathite,  together 
with  twelve  kings  of  the  sea-coast,  trusted  in  their  own  power  and  came  to  make 
war  and  fight  with  me.  With  them  I  fought.  25,000  of  their  fighting  men  I 
destroyed  with  arms.  Their  chariots,  their  horses,  their  implements  of  war  I 
took  from  them.  They  fled  to  save  their  lives.  I  embarked  on  a  ship  and  went 
out  to  sea. 

Four  years  later  Shalmaneser  records  the  subjugation  of  Car- 
chemish,  on  the  Euphrates  (cf.  Isa.  10  :  9;  Jer.  46  :  2).  His  account 
of  it  is  brief  and  runs  thus:3 

1  The  text  is  published  in  Rawlinson’s  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  III,  7,  8.  These 
lines  are  at  the  bottom  of  p.  8.  Cf.  also  Craig,  Hebraica,  III,  220,  ff.,  and  Rogers,  Cuneiform  Paral¬ 
lels  to  the  Old  Testament,  295,  ff. 

2  From  Layard’s  Inscriptions  in  the  Cuneiform  Character  from  the  Assyrian  Monuments,  London, 
1851,  p.  15.  Cf.  Delitzsch  in  Beitrage  zur  Assyriologie,  VI,  146. 

1  Layard,  op.  cit.,  line  84,  ff. 


362 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


In  the  10th  year  of  my  reign  (850  b.  c.),  the  river  Euphrates  I  crossed  for  the 
eighth  time.  The  cities  of  Sangar,  the  Carchemishite,  I  devastated,  I  destroyed 
I  burned  with  fire.  From  the  cities  of  Carchemish  I  departed  and  approached 
the  cities  of  Arame. 

The  next  year  Shalmaneser  again  tried  conclusions  with  the  kings 
of  the  west.  His  longer  account  of  this  runs  as  follows:1 

In  the  11th  year  of  my  reign  (849  b.  c.)  I  set  out  from  Nineveh.  I  crossed  the 

river  Euphrates  at  high  water  for  the  ninth  time . At  that  time  Hadad- 

idri  of  Damascus,  Irhulina  the  Hamathite,  together  with  twelve  kings  of  the 
sea-coast,  trusted  to  their  own  power  and  to  make  war  and  battle  with  me  they 
came.  I  fought  with  them,  I  accomplished  their  defeat.  10,000  of  their 
fighting  men  I  slew  with  arms.  Their  chariots,  horsemen,  and  implements  of 
war  I  took  from  them. 

Shalmaneser’s  third  campaign  against  these  kings  is  thus  de¬ 
scribed:2 

In  the  14th  year  of  my  reign  I  mustered  the  broad  land  without  number.  I 
crossed  the  Euphrates  at  high  water  with  120,000  troops.  At  that  time  Hadad- 
idri  of  Damascus  and  Irhulina,  the  Hamathite,  together  with  twelve  kings  of  the 
sea-coast,  upper  and  lower,  mustered  their  numerous  armies  without  number  and 
into  my  presence  came.  I  fought  with  them,  I  accomplished  their  defeat.  I 
brought  away  their  chariots  and  horses,  their  implements  of  war  I  took  from 
them;  they  fled  to  save  their  lives. 

A  fourth  campaign  another  inscription  describes  thus:3 

In  the  18th  year  of  my  reign  (842  b.  c.),  I  crossed  the  river  Euphrates  for  the 
sixteenth  time.  Hazael  of  Damascus  (cf.  1  Kings  19  :  15,  17;  2  Kings  8)  trusted 
to  the  great  numbers  of  his  forces  and  mustered  his  troops  in  large  numbers. 
Saniru  (i.  <?.,  Hermon,  see  Deut.  3  : 9),  a  mountain-peak  at  the  side  of  Mount 
Lebanon,  he  made  his  fortress.  I  fought  with  him,  I  accomplished  his  defeat. 
16,000  of  his  fighting  men  I  slew  with  arms.  1,121  of  his  chariots,  470  of  his 
horses  with  his  camp  I  took  from  him.  He  fled  to  save  his  life.  I  pursued  him 
and  in  Damascus,  his  capital  city,  shut  him  up.  I  cut  down  his  parks.  I 
marched  to  the  mountains  of  Hauran.  Cities  innumerable  I  destroyed,  devas¬ 
tated,  I  burned  with  fire;  their  untold  spoil  I  took  as  plunder.  To  the  mountain 
of  Bilirasi,4  a  mountain  at  the  head  of  the  sea,  I  marched.  My  royal  portrait  in 
it  I  set  up.  At  that  time  the  tribute  of  the  Tyrian,  the  Sidonian,  and  of  Jehu, 
son  of  Omri,  I  received. 

The  tribute  of  Jehu  of  Israel,  mentioned  in  the  last  line  of  this 
inscription,  is  pictured  on  Shalmaneser’s  black  obelisk;  (see  Figs. 
295,  296).  Above  its  various  panels  is  the  following  inscription:5 


1  Layard,  op.  cit.,  line  90,  ff. 

*  Ibid.,  line  99,  ff. 

•From  Rawlinson’s  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  III,  5,  No.  6.  The  text  is  also 
published  in  Delitzsch’s  Assyriscke  Lesestucke,  4th  ed.,  p.  51,  fF. 

4  The  cliff  at  the  mouth  of  the  Dog  river,  a  short  distance  north  of  Beirut.  This  portrait,  with 
that  of  Ramses  II  and  other  kings,  may  still  be  seen  carved  in  the  cliff. 

8  From  Abel  und  Winckler’s  Keilschrifttexle,  Berlin,  1890,  p.  12. 


LIGHT  ON  THE  BOOKS  OF  KINGS 


363 


Tribute  of  Jehu,  son  of  Omri:  silver,  gold,  a  bowl  (?)  of  gold,  a  basin  (?)  of  gold, 
cups  of  gold,  pails  (?)  of  gold,  bars  of  lead,  scepters  (?)  for  the  hand  of  the  king 
and  balsam  wood  I  received  from  him. 

A  fifth  expedition  is  thus  briefly  described:1 

In  the  21st  year  of  my  reign  (839  b.  c.),  the  river  Euphrates  I  crossed,  against 
the  cities  of  Hazael  of  Damascus  I  went.  Four  of  his  cities  I  captured.  The 
tribute  of  the  Tyrian,  of  the  Sidonian,  and  of  the  Gebalite  I  received. 

In  still  another  inscription,  which  gives  a  summary  of  his  wars, 
Shalmaneser  compresses  the  account  of  his  various  wars  in  the  west 
as  follows:2 

At  that  time  Hadadidri  of  the  land  of  Damascus,  together  with  12  princes,  his 
helpers, — their  defeat  I  accomplished.  29,000  mighty  warriors  I  prostrated  like 
a  simoom  (?).  The  rest  of  his  soldiers  I  cast  into  the  river  Orontes.  They  fled 
to  save  their  lives.  Hadadidri  forsook  his  land.  Hazael,  son  of  a  nobody,  seized 
the  throne.  He  summoned  his  numerous  soldiers  and  came  to  make  war  and 
battle  with  me.  With  him  I  fought,  I  accomplished  his  defeat.  The  wall  of  his 
camp  I  seized.  He  fled  to  save  his  life.  I  pursued  him  to- Damascus,  his  capital 
city. 

7.  The  Moabite  Stone. 

This  stone,  which  bears  an  inscription  of  Mesha,  King  of  Moab,  a 
contemporary  of  King  Ahab,  was  erected  at  Dibon  (the  modern 
Diban)  on  the  north  shore  of  the  Arnon,  where  it  was  found  in  the 
last  century.  The  upper  portion  of  it  was  first  seen  by  a  Prussian 
clergyman,  Rev.  F.  A.  Klein,  in  the  year  1868.  Reports  of  its 
existence  had  previously  reached  the  French  scholar,  Clermont- 
Ganneau,  who  was  then  in  Jerusalem,  and  a  squeeze  of  it  was 
afterward  taken  by  an  Arab  for  this  French  scholar.  Both  the 
French  and  Prussian  governments  were  desirous  of  obtaining  it,  and 
the  Arabs,  conceiving  that  they  could  obtain  more  money  for  it  by 
selling  it  in  parts,  broke  it  up,  thus  greatly  mutilating  the  inscrip¬ 
tion.  Afterward  the  French  obtained  it,  putting  the  pieces  together 
again,  and  it  may  now  be  seen  in  the  Louvre  at  Paris;  (see  Fig.  300) . 
The  inscription  is  as  follows:3 

I  am  Mesha,  son  of  Chemoshmelek,  King  of  Moab,  the  Dibonite.  My  father 
ruled  over  Moab  thirty  years,  and  I  ruled  after  my  father.  And  I  made  this 

1  Layard,  ap.  cit.,  p.  10,  line  102,  ff. 

2  Messerschmidt,  Keilschrifttexte  aus  Assur  historischen  Inhalts,  Leipzig,  1911,  No.  30,  line  13, 
ff.  Cf.  Langdon’s  translation  Expository  Times,  Vol.  XXIII,  1911,  p.  69;  also  Rogers,  Cuneiform 
Parallels,  p.  298,  ff. 

3  Translated  from  Smend  and  Socin’s  Die  Inschrifl  Mesa  von  Moab,  Freiburg  I.  B.,  1886.  Cf. 
also  Lidzbarski,  N ordsemitische  Epigraphik,  Weimar,  18M8,  Tafel  I;  G.  A.  Cooke,  North  Semitic  In¬ 
scriptions,  Oxford,  1903,  p.  1,  ff.;  Davis,  in  Hebraica,  VII  (1891),  178-182;  Bennett,  The  Moabite 
Stone,  Edinburgh,  1911;  and  Hastings,  Diet,  of  the  Bible,  III,  406,  ff. 


364 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


high  place  to  Chemosh  in  Qarhah  (?)  because  of  the  deliverance  of  Mesha,  because 
he  saved  me  from  all  the  kings  and  because  he  caused  me  to  see  [my  desire]  upon 
all  who  hated  me.  Omri,  king  of  Israel — he  oppressed  Moab  many  days,  be¬ 
cause  Chemosh  was  angry  with  his  land.  And  his  son  succeeded  him,  and  he 
also  said  I  will  oppress  Moab.  In  my  day  he  spoke  according  to  [this]  word,  but 
I  saw  [my  desire]  upon  him  and  upon  his  house,  and  Israel  utterly  perished  for¬ 
ever.  Now  Omri  had  possessed  all  the  land  of  Medeba  and  dwelt  in  it  his  days 
and  half  the  days  of  his  son,  forty  years,  but  Chemosh  restored  it  in  my  day. 
And  I  built  Baal-meon  and  I  made  in  it  the  reservoir  (?),  and  I  built  Kiryathaim. 
And  the  men  of  Gad  had  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Ataroth  from  of  old  and  the  king 
of  Israel  had  built  for  himself  Ataroth.  And  I  fought  against  the  city  and  took 
it,  and  I  slew  all  the  people  of  the  city,  a  sight  [pleasing]  to  Chemosh  and  to 
Moab.  And  I  brought  back  from  there  the  altar-hearth  of  Duda  and  I  dragged 
it  before  Chemosh  in  Kiryoth.  And  I  caused  to  dwell  in  it  the  men  of  Sharon  (?) 
and  the  men  of  Meharoth  (?).  And  Chemosh  said  to  me:  “Go  take  Nebo 
against  Israel”;  and  I  went  by  night  and  fought  against  it  from  break  of  dawn 
till  noon,  and  I  took  it  and  slew  all,  seven  thousand. men,  boys  (?),  and  women, 
and  girls,  for  I  had  devoted  it  to  Ashtar-Chemosh.  And  I  took  from  there  the 
altar-hearths  of  Yahweh  (Jehovah),  and  I  dragged  them  before  Chemosh.  And 
the  king  of  Israel  built  Jahaz  and  dwelt  in  it  while  he  fought  with  me  and  Che¬ 
mosh  drove  him  out  from  before  me.  And  I  took  from  Moab  two  hundred  men, 
all  its  chiefs,  and  I  led  them  against  Jahaz  and  took  it  to  add  unto  Dibon.  And 
I  built  Qarhah  (?),  the  wall  of  the  forests  and  the  wall  of  the  hill;  and  I  built  its 
gates  and  I  built  its  towers,  and  I  built  the  king’s  house,  and  I  made  the  sluices  (?) 
for  the  reservoir  of  water  in  the  midst  of  the  city.  And  there  was  no  cistern 
in  the  midst  of  the  city,  in  Qarhah  (?);  and  I  said  to  all  the  people:  “Make  you 
each  a  cistern  in  his  house;”  and  I  cut  the  cuttings  for  Qarhah  (?)  with  the  help  of 
the  prisoners  of  Israel.  I  built  Aroer  and  I  made  the  highway  by  the  Arnon. 
And  I  built  Beth-bamoth,  for  it  had  been  destroyed.  And  I  built  Bezer,  for  it 

was  in  ruins . [Chi]efs  of  Dibon  were  fifty,  for  all  Dibon  was  obedient. 

And  I  ruled  a  hundred . ,  in  the  cities  which  I  had  added  to  the  land. 

And  I  built  [Mede]ba  and  Beth-diblathan.  And  [as  for]  Beth-baal-meon,  there 

1  placed  sheep-raisers . sheep  of  the  land.  And  [as  for]  Horonaim 

there  dwelt  in  it . and . Chemosh  said  unto  me:  “Go  down,  fight 

against  Horonaim,”  and  I  went  down  and . Chemosh  in  my  day,  and 

from  there . and  I . 

The  author  of  this  inscription  is  the  Mesha  mentioned  in  2  Kings 
3  : 4.  He  is  there  said  to  have  been  a  “sheep-master”  (Hebrew, 
ndqedh) .  Mesha  appears  to  say  in  line  30  (the  word  is  broken)  that 
he  placed  noqedhim ,  “sheep-raisers,”  or,  “sheep-masters,”  in  Beth- 
baal-meon.  The  ndqedh  was  a  raiser  of  a  peculiar  breed  of  sheep. 
Moab  is  excellent  grazing  land  and  raised  a  great  many. 

In  general  the  inscription  supplements  the  Biblical  narrative. 
It  mentions  persons  and  places  well  known  from  the  Bible,  and 
gives  us  an  account  of  a  series  of  events  of  which  the  Bible  makes  no 
mention.  The  Biblical  account  says  nothing  of  Mesha’s  revolt, 
while  Mesha  in  his  turn  says  nothing  of  the  campaign  described  in 

2  Kings  3.  Neither  document  implies  that  the  events  described 
in  the  other  did  not  occur;  the  two  are  written  from  two  different 


LIGHT  ON  THE  BOOKS  OF  KINGS 


365 


points,  of  view  and  their  authors  selected  the  events  which  suited 
the  purpose  of  the  respective  writers.  In  spite  of  this  consideration 
there  are  some  differences  of  statement  which  are  perplexing. 

Mesha  says  in  substance  that  Omri  conquered  Medeba  and  occu¬ 
pied  it  during  his  reign,  half  the  reign  of  his  son,  a  period  of  forty 
years,  but  Chemosh  restored  it  to  Moab  in  his  (Mesha’s)  day.  It  is 
said  in  2  Kings  3  :  5,  on  the  other  hand,  that  “when  Ahab  was  dead, 
the  king  of  Moab  rebelled  against  the  king  of  Israel.”  According 
to  1  Kings  16  :  23-29,  Omri  reigned  twelve  years  and  Ahab  twenty- 
two  years.  All  the  reign  of  Omri,  and  half  of  that  of  Ahab  would, 
accordingly,  be  but  twenty-three  years.  It  is  possible,  however, 
as  has  been  suggested  by  several  scholars,  that  Mesha  uses  the 
word  son  to  denote  descendant,  and  that  he  refers  to  the  war  with 
Israel  in  the  reign  of  Jehoram,  son  of  Ahab,  described  in  2  Kings 
3  :  6-27.  Another  suggestion,  which  seems  more  probable,  is  that 
the  recapture  of  Medeba,  mentioned  near  the  beginning  of  Mesha’s 
inscription,  occurred  about  the  middle  of  the  reign  of  Ahab,  while 
the  capture  of  Ataroth  may  have  belonged  to  the  period  of  Jehoram, 
the  whole  time  from  Omri  to  Jehoram  being  forty  years.  Some 
scholars  have  supposed  that  the  Biblical  chronology  is  in  error  and 
that  Omri  and  Ahab  together  ruled  some  fifty  years.  This  sup¬ 
position  can  hardly  be  correct,  since  the  general  accuracy  of  the 
chronology  of  this  part  of  Kings  is  confirmed  by  the  Assyrian  in¬ 
scriptions. 

Mesha’s  inscription  mentions  a  number  of  places  which  the  Bible 
also  names,  the  Arnon  (Num.  21  : 13,  etc.;  Deut.  2  :  24;  3  : 16,  etc.), 
Aroer  (Josh.  13:16),  Ataroth  (Num.  32:34), Baal-meon  or  Beth-baal- 
meon  (Josh.  13  :  17;  Num.  32  :  38),  Beth-bamoth1  (Josh.  13  :  17), 
Beth-diblathaim  (Jer.  48  :  22),  Bezer  (Josh.  20  :  8),  Dibon  (Num. 
32  :  34;  Josh.  13  :  17;  Isa.  15  :  2),  Horonaim  (Isa.  15  :  5),  Jahaz 
(Josh.  13  :  18;  Isa.  15  : 4),  Kerioth  (Jer.  48  :  24),  Kirathaim  (Josh. 
13  :  19;  Jer.  48  :  23),  Medeba  (Josh.  13  :  16;  Isa.  15  :  2),  and  Nebo 
(Num.  32  :  38;  Deut.  34  :  1;  Isa.  15  :  2). 

8.  Adadnirari  IV. 

Adadnirari  IV  of  Assyria  (810-782  b.  c.)  has  left  an  inscription 
which  mentions  Syria  and  Palestine.  It  reads  as  follows:2 


1  In  Joshua  the  name  appears  as  Bamoth-baal. 

2  Translated  from  Rawlinson’s  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  Vol.  I,  p.  35,  No.  1. 
Cf.  also  Rogers,  Cuneiform- Parallels  to  the  Old  Testament,  p.  305,  fL,  and  the  references  there  given 
to-  other  translations. 


366 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Palace  of  Adadnirari,  the  great  king,  the  mighty  king,  the  king  of  the  world, 
the  king  of  Assyria,  who  conquered  from  the  Euphrates,  the  Hittite  country,  the 
Amorite  land  in  its  entirety;  Tyre,  Sidon,  the  land  of  Omri,  Edom,  Palastu,  to  the 
coast  'of  the  great  sea,  where  the  sun  sets,  cast  themselves  at  my  feet;  I  imposed 
tribute  and  imposts  upon  them.  To  the  land  of  Damascus  I  marched.  Mari, 
King  of  Damascus,  in  Damascus  his  royal  city  I  besieged.  The  fear  of  the  luster 
of  Ashur  my  lord  overwhelmed  him  and  he  seized  my  feet  and  became  subject. 
2,300  talents  of  silver,  20  talents  of  gold,  3,000  talents  of  copper,  5,000  talents  of 
iron,  variegated  garments,  linen  (?),  an  ivory  bed,  an  ivory  couch  (?)  with  inlaid 
border,  his  goods  without  measure  I  received  in  the  palace  in  his  royal  city 
Damascus. 

“The  land  of  Omri”  was  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  Omri  had  made 
such  an  impression  on  the  East  that  the  Assyrians  still  so  called  it. 
“Palastu”  is  Philistia.  Edom  is  here  mentioned  for  the  first  time 
as  paying  tribute  to  an  Assyrian  king,  but  Judah  is  not  mentioned; 
she  was  still  free.  Adadnirari  was  a  contemporary  of  Jehoahaz  and 
Jehoash  of  Israel,  and  of  Joash  and  Amaziah  of  Judah. 

9.  Tiglathpileser  IV. 

Tiglathpileser  IV,  one  of  the  greatest  of  Assyria’s  kings,  made 
several  campaigns  into  the  west  and  had  a  profound  influence  upon 
the  fortunes  of  the  Hebrew  people.  Unfortunately,  his  inscriptions 
have  been  greatly  mutilated.  Esarhaddon,  a  later  king,  determined 
to  remodel  Tiglathpileser’s  palace  for  his  own  use.  Apparently  he 
intended  to  erase  Tiglathpileser’s  inscriptions  from  the  wall-tablets 
which  adorned  the  palace,  in  order  to  inscribe  these  tablets  with  his 
own.  Esarhaddon  died  before  the  work  had  progressed  very  far, 
so  that  the  inscriptions  were  not  entirely  ruined.  The  beginnings 
and  ends  of  many  lines  are,  however,  entirely  destroyed,  and  at  some 
points  deplorable  gaps  exist  in  the  body  of  an  inscription.  Much 
that  is  of  interest  to  the  Biblical  student  can  still  be  made  out,  as 
the  following  translation  will  show:1 

1 . 


2.  [In]  the  progress  of  my  expedition  the  tribute  of  ki[ngs] . 

3  . Azariah,  the  Yaudaean,  like . 

4  . Azariah  of  Yaudi  in . . 

5  . without  number  exalted  to  heaven . 

6  . in  the  eyes,  when  that  which  from  heaven . 

7  . by  the  onset  of  infantry . 

8.  [the  advance]  of  my  powerful  [troops]  they  heard  and  [their  hearts] 
feared . 

9 . 1  destroyed,  devastated,  burned  with  fire . 

10 . who  had  joined  with  Azariah  and  had  strengthened  him. 


1  Translated  from  Rawlinson’s  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  III,  9,  No.  2,  with  a 
comparison  of  Rost,  Die  Keilschrifttexte  Tiglathpilesers  III. 


LIGHT  ON  THE  BOOKS  OF  KINGS  367 


11 . like  vines 


23  . Azariah,  the  Yaudsean . my  royal  palace 

24  . tribute  like  the  [Assyrian  I  laid  upon  them.] 


30 . the  city  Bumame,1  19  districts 

31.  of  the  city  of  Hamath,  together  with  the  cities  of  their  environs  on  the 

shore  of  the  western  sea,  which  sinfully  and  wrongfully  they  had  seized 
for  Azariah, 

32.  unto  the  territory  of  Assyria  I  added.  I  set  my  officers  over  them  as 

governors.  30,000  men  [I  carried  away  captive] 

33 . from  their  cities,  in  the  city  of  Ku . I  settled  them.  1,223 

people  I  settled  in  the  province  of  Ullubu. 


50 . Tribute  of  Kushtashpi,  the  Kummukhite,  Rezin,  the  Damascene, 

Menahem,  the  Samaritan, 

51.  Hiram,  the  Tyrian,  Sibitti-baal,  the  Gebalite,  Urikke,  the  Queite,  Pisiris 

of  Carchemish,  Eniel 

52.  the  Hamathite,  Panammu,  the  Samalite,  Tarhulara,  the  Gamgumalite, 

Sulumal,  the  Melidite,  Dadilu, 

53.  the  Kaskite,  Ussurmi,  the  Tabalite,  Ushkitti,  the  Tunite,  Urballa,  the 

Tuhanite,  Tuhammi,  the  Ishtundite, 

54.  Urimme,  the  Hushimnite,  Zabibe,  Queen  of  Arabia,  gold,  silver,  lead,  iron, 

elephant-hide,  ivory, 

55.  variegated  garments,  linen  cloths,  purple  and  red  wool,  ushu- wood, 

ukarinu- wood,  costly  things,  a  royal  treasure,  fat  sheep  whose  wool 

56.  was  dyed  red,  winged  birds  of  heaven  whose  wings  were  dyed  purple, 

horses,  mules,  oxen  and  sheep,  camels, 

57.  she-camels,  together  with  their  foals,  I  received. 

This  account  relates  to  the  campaign  of  738  b.  c.  The  Azariah 
referred  to  has  been  thought  to  be  King  Uzziah  of  Judah,  who  is 
called  Azariah  in  2  Kings  14  :  21  and  15  :  1-27.  It  is  probable 
that  he  was  an  Azariah  of  Yadi,  of  northern  Syria,  mentioned  in 
an  inscription  of  Panammu,  to  whom  Tiglathpileser  refers  above, 
since  the  kings  mentioned  with  him  ruled  in  the  north.  Mana- 
hem  of  Israel  (2  Kings  15  :  14-23)  yielded  to  Tiglathpileser,  as  did 
Rezin,  of  Damascus  (2  Kings  15  :  37  and  16  :  5-9),  but  for  some 
reason  Azariah  and  Judah  escaped. 

This  inscription,  fragmentary  though  it  is,  tells  us  that  Tiglath¬ 
pileser  now  practised  upon  others  the  system  of  deportation  from 
which  Israel  herself  afterward  suffered.  He  forcibly  removed 
thousands  from  their  homes  to  distant  parts  of  the  empire.  This 
was  an  administrative  measure,  to  prevent  future  rebellion.  Per¬ 
sons  who  had  been  influential  at  home  among  their  own  people 
would  be  powerless  to  foment  trouble  in  the  midst  of  strange  sur¬ 
roundings  and  neighbors  of  an  unfriendly  race. 


1  Translated  from  Rawlinson,  ibid.,  No.  3. 


368 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


The  following  relates  to  the  campaign  of  733-732  :l 

1 . his  warriors  I  captured . I  overthrew  with 


my  weapons. 

2 . before  him. 

3.  the  charioteers  and . their  weapons  I  broke. 

4.  the[ir  chariots  and]  horses  I  seized . his  bowmen . 


5  . who  carried  shields  and  spears  my  hands  overthrew,  their 

battle 

6  . to  save  his  life  he  fled  alone  and 

7  . like  a  mouse  (?)  entered  the  gate  of  his  city.  His  captains 

alive 

8.  [my  hands  captured  and  on]  stakes  I  hung  them  and  exhibited  them  to  his 
land.  45  people  (?)  from  his  camp 

9 . 1  brought  together  before  his  city,  and  I  shut  him  in  like  a  bird  in  a 

cage.  His  parks 

10  . his  orchards,  which  were  without  number,  I  cut  down  and  did  not 

leave  one. 

11  . Hadara,  the  home  of  the  father  of  Rezin  of  Damascus, 

12.  [the  place  where]  he  was  born,  I  besieged,  I  captured.  800  people,  to¬ 
gether  with  their  possessions, 

13  . their  cattle,  and  sheep  I  took  as  spoil.  750  prisoners  of  the  city 

Kurussa, 

14  . prisoners  of  the  city  Irma,  550  prisoners  of  the  city  Mituna,  I  cap¬ 

tured.  591  cities . 

15  . of  16  districts  of  Damascus  like  a  deluge  heap  I  destroyed. 


19 . Hanno  of  Gaza2 

20.  fled  before  my  weapons  and  escaped  to  Egypt.  The  city,  Gaza, 

21.  [I  captured.  His  goods],  his  possessions,  his  gods  [I  took  as  spoil] 

my  royal  image 

22 . in  the  palace  of  [Hanno  I  set  up]. 


27.  The  country  of  the  house  of  Omri . all  its  people, 

28.  [and  their  possessions]  I  carried  away  unto  Assyria.  Pekah,  their  king, 

they  had  overthrown.  Hoshea 

29.  [as  king]  over  them  I  placed.  10  talents  of  gold . talents  of  silver  I 

received  as  tribute  from  them. 


57.  Tribute3  of  Kushtashpi,  the  Kummuchite,  Urikki,  the  Queite,  Sibittibaal, 

the  Gebalite,  Pisiris,  the  Carchemishite,] 

58.  Eni-el,  the  Hamathite,  Panammu,  the  Samalite,  Tarhulara,  the  Gurgum- 

ite,  Sulufmal,  the  Melidite,  Dadilu,  the  Kaskite], 

59.  Ussurmi,  the  Tabalite,  Urassurme,  the  Tabalite,  Ushhitti,  the  Tunite, 

Urballa,  the  Turhanite,  Tuhamm[e,  the  Ishtundite,  Urimme,  the 
Hushimnite], 

60.  Matanbaal,  the  Arvadite,  Sanipu,  the  Beth- Ammonite,  Salamanu,  the 

Moabite, . 

61.  Mitinti,  the  Askelonite,  Jehoahaz  [Ahaz],  the  Judaean,  Kaushmalaka, 

the  Edomite,  Mus . 

1  Translated  from  Layard,  Inscriptions  in  the  Cuneiform  Character,  with  a  comparison  of  Rost, 
op.  cit. 

2  From  Rawlinson,  op.  cit.,  10,  No.  2,  with  a  comparison  of  Rost,  op.  cit. 

3  From  Rawlinson,  op.  cit.,  Vol.  II,  p.  67 


LIGHT  ON  THE  BOOKS  OF  KINGS 


369 


62.  Hanno,  the  Gazaite,  gold,  silver,  lead,  iron,  tin,  variegated  garments, 

linen,  red  cloths  of  their  lands, 

63.  every  costly  thing,  products  of  sea  and  dry  land  produced  by  their  coun¬ 

tries,  royal  treasures,  horses,  mules,  harnesses . [I  received.] 


The  record  of  this  campaign,  fragmentary  as  it  is,  shows  how  com¬ 
pletely  Tiglathpileser  conquered  the  west.  He  accomplished  the 
overthrow  of  Damascus,  which  his  predecessors  had  been  trying  in 
vain  to  do  for  more  than  a  hundred  years.  His  invasion  of  northern 
Israel  led  to  the  overthrow  of  Pekah,  and  the  deportation  as  cap¬ 
tives  to  other  parts  of  the  empire  of  numerous  Israelites.  This 
confirms  2  Kings  15  :  29,  30.  It  was  this  conquest  of  Damascus 
and  Israel  that  fulfilled  Isaiah’s  prophecy  given  in  735  B.  c.  (Isa. 
7  :  16).  It  was  while  Tiglathpileser  was  at  Damascus,  receiving 
the  tribute,  that  Ahaz,  whose  full  name  was  Jehoahaz,  went  to 
Damascus  to  carry  his  tribute, — an  act  which  prevented  the  in¬ 
vasion  of  Judah  by  Assyria  at  this  time.  While  Ahaz  was  in 
Damascus,  he  saw  the  altar  of  which  a  copy  was  made  for  the  temple 
in  Jerusalem  (2  Kings  16  :  10,  ff.).  The  list  of  kings  from  whom 
Tiglathpileser  received  tribute  contains  many  Biblical  names.  Not 
only  Israel  and  Judah,  but  the  Philistine  cities,  Edom,  Moab, 
Ammon,  Damascus,  Hamath,  the  Phoenician  cities  of  Gebal  and 
Arvad,  Samal  in  the  extreme  north  of  Syria,  Que  in  Cilicia,  and 
Carchemish  on  the  Euphrates,  were  all  drawn  into  his  net. 

10.  Sargon,  722-705  B.  C. 

Tiglathpileser  IV  was  succeeded  by  Shalmaneser  V,  who  ruled,  as 
the  eponym  canon  shows,  from  727  to  722  b.  c.  On  account  of  a 
rebellion  of  Hoshea,  King  of  Israel,  Shalmaneser  overran  his  king¬ 
dom  and  besieged  Samaria  for  three  years,  as  recorded  in  2  Kings 
17  :  3-5.  Before  the  city  fell,  however,  Shalmaneser  had  passed 
away  and  Sargon,  the  founder  of  a  new  dynasty,  was  on  the  throne 
of  Assyria.  In  Sargon’s  first  year  Samaria  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Assyrian  army;  Sargon  counted  this  as  his  own  victory  and  tells  of 
it  in  the  following  words:1 

At  the  beginning  of  my  reign,  in  my  first  year . Samaria  I  besieged,  I 

captured.  27,290  people  from  its  midst  I  carried  captive.  50  chariots  I  took 

there  as  an  addition  to  my  royal  force . I  returned  and  made  more  than 

formerly  to  dwell.  People  from  lands  which  my  hands  had  captured  I  settled 
in  the  midst.  My  officers  over  them  as  governors  I  appointed.  Tribute  and 
taxes  I  imposed  upon  them  after  the  Assyrian  manner. 


1From  Winckler’s  Keilschrifttexte  Sargons,  p.  1,  line  10,  f. 


370 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


In  another  inscription  the  following  summary  account  occurs:1 

From  the  beginning  of  my  reign  to  my  15th  year,  the  defeat  of  Humbanigash, 
the  Elamite,  in  the  environs  of  Durilu  I  accomplished.  Samaria  I  besieged,  I 
captured;  I  carried  captive  27,290  people  who  dwelt  in  it;  50  chariots  I  took  from 
them,  and  permitted  the  rest  to  keep  their  possessions  (?),  and  placed  my  gover¬ 
nor  over  them  and  imposed  on  them  the  tribute  of  the  former  king. 

These  statements  confirm  2  Kings  17  :  6  and  24,  ff.  In  one  re¬ 
spect  they  throw  an  interesting  light  upon  the  captivity  of  Israel. 
Only  27,290  people  were  transported  at  this  time.  True,  Tiglath- 
pileser  IV  had  previously  transported  the  inhabitants  of  several 
towns  of  Galilee.  (See  2  Kings  15  :  29,  and  his  inscriptions  trans¬ 
lated  above.)  When  we  put  together  all  those  who  were  deported, 
however,  they  were  but  a  fraction  of  the  population.  As  Sargon 
distinctly  says,  the  others  remained  there.  They  intermarried  with 
the  settlers  whom  he  brought  in  and  became  the  ancestors  of  the 
sect  of  Samaritans.  The  “ten  lost  tribes”  were  not  “lost,”  as  is 
often  popularly  supposed  to  have  been  the  case. 

The  first  of  the  inscriptions  quoted  above  contains  also  the  fol¬ 
lowing  passage:2 

In  the  second  year  of  my  reign  Ilubidi,  the  Hamathite . collected  his 

numerous  troops  at  Qarqar.  The  oath  [of  Ashur  he  despised].  Arpad,  Simirra, 

Damascus,  Samaria,  he  made  rebellious  against  me . Sib’u, 

his  Tartan,  he  summoned  to  his  aid,  and  to  give  fight  and  battle  came  into  my 
presence.  In  the  name  of  Ashur,  my  lord,  I  accomplished  his  defeat.  Sib’u  fled 
like  a  shepherd  whose  sheep  are  stolen  and  escaped.  Hanno  I  caught  in  my 
hand  and  took  him  bound  unto  my  city  Ashur.  The  city  Raphia  I  devastated, 
destroyed,  burned  with  fire.  I  took  captive  9,033  people,  together  with  their 
numerous  possessions. 


The  Sib’u  of  this  inscription  is  probably  the  same  as  So,  King  of 
Egypt,  in  2  Kings  17  :  4.  He  cannot  be  identified  with  any  known 
Egyptian  king.  He  was  probably  a  prince  of  a  nome  of  the  Delta. 
The  above  is  Sargon’s  description  of  the  battle  of  Raphia,  which 
occurred  in  the  year  720  b.  c.  This  campaign  was  an  aftermath  of 
the  fall  of  Samaria. 

717  B.  C. 

[Sargon],3  the  exalted  prince,  who  came  upon  Hummanigash,  the  King  of 
Elam,  in  the  environs  of  Durilu  and  accomplished  his  overthrow,  who  reduced 


1  Translated  from  Winckler,  op.  cit.,  p.  30,  No.  64,  23,  f. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  1,  2,  beginning  at  p.  1,  No.  2,  line  10. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  48,  line  8,  ff. 


LIGHT  ON  THE  BOOKS  OF  KINGS  371 

to  submission  Yaudi,  the  place  of  which  was  distant,  who  destroyed  Hamath, 
whose  hands  captured  Yaubidi. 


This  Yaudi  has  been  taken  by  some  scholars  for  Judah,  but  it 
was  probably  the  kingdom  in  northern  Syria  mentioned  by  Tig- 
lathpileser  IV  and  in  the  inscription  of  Panammu,  of  Samal,  the 
modern  Zendjirli.  We  know  of  no  Assvrian  invasion  of  Judah  at 
this  time. 

The  tribute  of  Pharaoh,  King  of  Egypt,  of  Samsi,  the  Queen  of  Arabia,  Ith- 

amara,  the  Sabsean,  gold,  the . of  the  mountain,  horses,  and  camels,  I 

received . 1 

_  Yaubidi,  the  Hamathite,  a  soldier  (?),  with  no  right  to  the  throne,  a  bad  Hit- 
tite,  had  set  his  heart  on  the  kingdom  of  Hamath;  he  caused  Arpad,  Simirra, 
Damascus,  and  Samaria  to  rebel  against  me,  made  them  of  one  intent  and  col¬ 
lected  for  battle.  The  whole  army  of  Ashur  I  mustered  and  in  Qarqar,  his  favor¬ 
ite  city,  I  besieged  him  together  with  his  soldiers.  I  captured  Qarqar,  I  burned 
it  with  fire.  His  skin  I  flayed  and  the  partakers  of  his  sin  I  killed  in  their  cities; 
I  established  peace.  200  chariots  and  200  horsemen  I  collected  from  the  people 
of  Hamath,  and  added  to  my  royal  force. 

This  passage  records  the  overthrow  of  Hamath  and  Arpad  (Isa. 
10  :  9),  and  mentions  the  tribute  of  a  king  of  Sheba,  the  account  of 
the  coming  of  whose  queen  to  Solomon  is  found  in  1  Kings  10  :  1,  ff. 

711  B.  C. 

Azuri,  King  of  Ashdod,  planned  in  his  heart  not  to  pay  tribute,  and  among 
the  kings  of  his  neighborhood  disseminated  hatred  of  Assyria.  On  account  of 
the  evil  he  had  done  I  cut  off  his  lordship  over  the  people  of  his  land.  I  ap¬ 
pointed  Ahimiti,  his  younger  (?)  brother  to  the  kingship  over  them.  But  the 
Hittites,  planning  evil,  hated  him  and  exalted  over  them  Yamani,  who  had  no 
claim  to  the  throne,  and  who,  like  them,  knew  no  fear  of  authority.  In  the  anger 
of  my  heart  the  mass  of  my  army  I  did  not  muster,  I  did  not  assemble  my  camp. 
With  my  usual  bodyguard  I  marched  against  Ashdod.  Yamani  heard  of  the 
progress  of  my  expedition  from  afar  and  fled  to  the  borders  of  Egypt,  which  lies 
by  the  side  of  Melucha,  and  was  seen  no  more.  Ashdod,  Gath,  Ashdudimmu, 
I  besieged,  I  conquered.  I  took  as  spoil  his  gods,  his  wife,  his  sons,  his  daughters, 
his  possessions,  the  treasures  of  his  palace,  together  with  the  people  of  his  land. 
I  seized  those  cities  anew,  and  settled  in  them  peoples  of  lands  I  had  captured 

from  among  [the  lands]  of  the  east . With  the  people  of  Assyria  I 

numbered  them,  and  they  bore  my  yoke.  The  king  of  Melucha,  who  among 

. an  inaccessible  place,  a  road . whose  fathers  from  ancient  days  as 

far  back  as  the  moon-god,  his  father,  had  sent  no  messengers  to  my  fathers  to 
pay  their  respects,  heard  from  afar  of  the  might  of  Ashur,  Nabu,  and  Marduk; 
the  fear  of  the  luster  of  my  royalty  covered  him  and  fright  was  poured  over  him. 
He  cast  him  [Yamani]  into  bonds,  fetters  of  iron,  and  brought  him  before  me 
into  Assyria, — a  long  journey.2 


1  From  Winckler,  op.  cit.,  p.  31,  lines  27,  ff.  and  33,  ff. 


2  Ibid.,  p.  33,  line  90,  ff. 


372 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Another  fragmentary  account  runs  thus:1 

In  the  9th  [error  for  11th]  year  of  my  reign  I  marched . to  the  coast 

of  the  great  sea . Azuri,  King  of  Ashdod, . Ahimiti . his 

younger  (?)  brother . I  exalted  over  them . tribute  and  taxes 

of  my  lordship . like  those  of . kings,  I  imposed  upon  them . The 

evil  in . in  order  not  to  pay  tribute . their  princes . 

they  drove  him  away . Yamani,  a  soldier,  they  appointed  to  kingship 

over  them.  Their  city . in  its  environs  a  moat . cubits  in 

depth  they  dug,  they  reached  the  water-level . To  [punish]  Philistia, 

Judah,  Edom,  Moab,  who  inhabit  the  sea-coast,  payers  of  tribute,  and  taxes  to 
Ashur,  my  lord.  Planning  rebellion  and  untold  evil  against  me,  they  bore  their 
pledges  to  Pharaoh,  King  of  Egypt,  aprince  who  could  not  help  them,  and  sought 
his  aid.  I,  Sargon,  the  faithful  prince,  who  honors  the  oath  of  Nabu  and 
Marduk,  who  guards  the  name  of  Ashur,  caused  my  trusty  troops  to  cross  the 
Tigris  and  Euphrates  at  high  water.  As  for  him,  Yamani,  their  king,  who  had 
trusted  to  his  own  power,  and  had  not  submitted  to  my  lordship,  he  heard  of  the 

advance  of  my  army.  The  fear  of  Ashur,  my  lord,  cast  him  down,  and  to . 

which  is  on  the  bank  of  the  river . waters . his  land . far  away 

. he  fled . Ashdod . 

The  two  passages  just  translated  are  Sargon’s  accounts  of  the 
events  alluded  to  in  Isa.  20  :  1.  These  events  were  the  occasion 
of  the  prophecy  there  recorded.  Until  the  discovery  of  the  palace 
of  Sargon  by  Botta  in  1845,  this  passage  in  Isaiah,  was  the  only 
place  in  extant  literature  where  the  name  of  Sargon  had  been  pre¬ 
served. 

In  the  last  of  the  passages  just  quoted,  Sargon  speaks  as  though 
he  had  also  punished  Judah  on  this  expedition.  There  is  no  direct 
allusion  to  this  in  the  Bible  unless  it  be  the  vivid,  description  in  Isa. 
10  :  28—32,  where  an  approach  of  an  Assyrian  army  to  Jerusalem 
from  the  north  is  described.  It  is  difficult  to  date  those  verses  un¬ 
less  they  also  refer  to  this  expedition  of  711  b.  c.  (See  Appendix.) 

11.  Sennacherib,  705-681  B.  C. 

Campaign  of  7012 

In  my  third  expedition  I  went  to  the  land  of  the  Hittites.  The  -fear  of  my 
lordship  overthrew  Luli,  King  of  Sidon,  and  he  fled  to  a  distance  in  the  midst  of 
the  sea.  His  land  I  subdued.  Great  Sidon,  little  Sidon,  Beth-zet,  Zareptah, 
Mahalliba,  Ushu,  Achzib,  Accho,  his  strongholds,  his  fortresses,  the  places  of  his 
food  and  drink,  the  forts  in  which  he  trusted,  the  might  of  the  weapons  of  Ashur, 
my  lord,  overthrew  them  and  they  submitted  to  my  feet.  I  caused  Tubal  to  sit 
on  the  royal  throne  over  them,  and  imposed  upon  him  the  yearly  payment  of 
tribute  as  the  tax  of  my  lordship.  Minhimmu,  the  Shamsimurunian,  Tubalu, 
the  Sidonian,  Abdiliti,  the  Arvadite,  Urumilke,  the  Gebalite,  Mitinti,  the  Ashdod- 
ite,  Puduilu,  the  Beth-Ammonite,  Kammusunadbi,  the  Moabite,  Milkirammu, 


1  From  Winckler’s  work  previously  cited,  p.  44. 

1  From  Abel  und  Winckler’s  Keilschrifttexle,  p.  18,  col.  ii,  34,  ff. 


LIGHT  ON  THE  BOOKS  OF  KINGS 


373 


the  Edomite,  kings  of  the  Westland,  all  of  them,  an  extensive  district,  brought 
their  heavy  tribute  together  with  their  possessions  into  my  presence  and  kissed 
my  feet. 

And  Sidqa,  the  King  of  Askelon,  who  had  not  submitted  to  my  yoke,  the  gods 
of  the  house  of  his  father,  himself,  his  wife,  his  sons,  his  daughters,  his  brothers, 
the  seed  of  the  house  of  his  father  I  took  away  and  brought  him  to  Assyria. 
Sharruludari,  the  son  of  Rukibti,  their  former  king,  I  placed  over  the  people  of 
Askelon,  and  imposed  upon  him  the  payment  of  tribute  as  an  aid  to  my  rule, 
and  he  bore  my  yoke.  In  the  progress  of  my  expedition  Beth-Dagon,  Joppa, 
Banabarka,  Azuru,  the  cities  of  Sidqa,  who  had  not  with  alacrity  submitted  to 
my  feet,  I  besieged,  I  captured,  I  took  their  spoil.  The  governors,  princes,  and 
people  of  Ekron,  who  had  cast  into  fetters  of  iron  Padi,  their  king,  my  ally,  bound 
by  Ashur’s  oath,  and  had  delivered  him  to  Hezekiah,  the  Judaean,  who  as  an 
enemy  imprisoned  him, — their  hearts  feared.  The  kings  of  Egypt,  the  soldiers, 
bows,  chariots,  and  horses  of  the  king  of  Meluhu,  an  unnumbered  force,  they 
summoned,  and  they  came  to  their  aid.  In  the  environs  of  Elteke  the  battle 
array  was  drawn  up  before  me;  they  asked  for  their  weapons.  In  the  might  of 
Ashur,  my  lord,  I  fought  with  them  and  accomplished  their  defeat.  My  hands 
took  alive  in  the  midst  of  the  battle  the  commander  of  the  chariots  and  the  sons 
of  the  Egyptian  king,  together  with  the  commander  of  the  chariots  of  the  king  of 
Meluhu.  Elteke  [and]  Timnath  I  besieged,  captured  and  took  their  spoil.  I 
approached  Ekron.  The  governors  and  princes  who  had  committed  sin  I  killed 
and  on  stakes  round  about  the  city  I  hung  their  bodies.  The  citizens  who  had 
committed  wickedness  and  rebellion  I  counted  as  spoil.  I  declared  the  right¬ 
eousness  of  the  rest  of  them,  who  had  committed  no  sin  and  rebellion  and  in 
whom  was  no  wickedness.  I  brought  Padi,  their  king,  out  of  the  midst  of  Jeru¬ 
salem,  and  on  the  throne  of  dominion  over  them  I  placed,  and  imposed  the  trib¬ 
ute  of  my  over-lordship  upon  him. 

And  as  to  Hezekiah,  the  Judaean,  who  had  not  submitted  to  my  yoke,  46  of  his 
strongholds,  fortified  cities,  and  smaller  cities  of  their  environs  without  number, 
with  the  onset  of  battering  ram,s  and  the  attack  of  engines,  mines,  breaches,  and 
axes  (?),  I  besieged,  I  captured.  200,150  people,  small  and  great,  male  and 
female,  horses,  mules,  asses,  camels,  oxen,  and  sheep  without  number  I  brought 
out  of  their  mjdst  and  counted  as  booty.  He  himself  I  shut  up  like  a  caged  bird 
in  Jerusalem,  his  capital  city;  I  erected  beleaguering  works  against  him,  and 
turned  back  by  command  every  one  who  came  out  of  his  city  gate.  The  cities, 
which  I  had  captured,  from  his  country  I  cut  off  and  gave  them  to  Mitinti,  King 
of  Ashdod,  Padi,  King  of  Ekron,  and  Sillibaal,  King  of  Gaza,  and  diminished  his 
land.  In  addition  to  the  former  tribute,  their  yearly  tax,  I  added  a  tax  as  the 
impost  of  my  over-lordship  and  laid  it  upon  them.  As  to  Hezekiah  himself,  the 
fear  of  the  luster  of  my  lordship  overcame  him  and  the  Urbi  and  his  favorite 
soldiers,  whom  he  had  brought  in  to  strengthen  Jerusalem,  his  capital  city, 
deserted.  With  30  talents  of  gold,  800  talents  of  silver,  precious  stones,  rouge, 
dakkasi,  lapis  lazuli,  great  angugmi- stones,  beds  of  ivory,  stationary  ivory  thrones, 
elephants’  hide,  ivory,  ushu- wood,  ukarinnu- wood,  all  sorts  of  objects,  a  heavy- 
treasure;  also  his  daughters,  the  women  of  his  palace,  male  and  female  musicians 
he  sent  after  me  to  Nineveh,  my  capital  city,  and  sent  his  messenger  to  present 
the  gift  and  to  do  homage. 

Inscription  under  Lachish-picture,  701  B.  C. 

Sennacherib,  king  of  the  world,  King  of  Assyria,  sat  on  his  throne,  and  the 
spoil  of  the  city  of  Lachish  passed  before  him;1  (see  Fig.  298). 

1  From  Winckler’s  Keilschrifltextbuch,  1892,  p.  36. 


374 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Expedition  against  Merodachbaladan,  703  B.  C. 

In  my  first  expedition  I  accomplished  the  defeat  of  Merodachbaladan,  King 
of  Babylon,  together  with  the  forces  of  Elam,  his  ally,  in  the  environs  of  the  city 
of  Kish.  In  the  midst  of  that  battle  he  left  his  camp  and  fled  alone;  he  saved  his 
life.  The  chariots,  horses,  wagons,  and  mules,  w'hich  at  the  onset  of  battle  he 
had  left,  my  hands  captured.  I  entered  joyfully  into  his  palace  which  was  in 
Babylon.  I  opened  his  treasure-house;  gold,  silver,  gold  and  silver  utensils, 
precious  stones  of  all  kinds,  his  untold  treasured  possessions,  a  great  booty;  the 
women  of  his  palace,  princes,  his  body-guards,  male  and  female  musicians, 
the  rest  of  his  troops  as  many  as  there  were,  and  the  servants  of  his  palace  I 
brought  out  and  counted  as  spoil.1 

Campaign  against  Arabia  (between  688  and  682) 

Telhunu,  the  Queen  of  Arabia,  in  the  midst  of  the  desert — from  her  I  took .  . . 
camels.  The  [luster  of]  my  [lordship]  overthrew  her  and  Hazael.  They  left 

their  tents  and  fled  to  Adummatu,  which  is  situated  in  the  desert, . a  thirsty 

place,  where  there  is  neither  food  nor  drink.2 

The  material  contained  in  the  first  two  passages  just  quoted  from 
Sennacherib  is  parallel  in  a  general  way  to  2  Kings  18,  19  and  Isa. 
36,  37.  All  Biblical  students  recognize  that  these  two  chapters  in 
Isaiah  are  practically  identical  with  the  two  in  Kings.  In  discussing 
the  parallelism,  therefore,  we  shall  refer  to  2  Kings  18,  19  only. 
With  reference  to  the  bearing  of  this  Assyrian  material  upon  the 
Biblical  narrative  there  are  three  different  views  which  have  been 
entertained  by  three  groups  of  scholars. 

1.  One  view,  which  was  first  expressed  by  the  late  Prof.  Schrader,3 
of  Berlin,  is  that  the  inscription  of  Sennacherib,  while  differing  from 
the  Biblical,  account  in  some  particulars,  really  confirms  it  at  nearly 
every  point.  Sennacherib,  though  he  claims  to  have  diminished 
Hezekiah’s  territory,  and  to  have  received  from  him  a  heavy  tribute, 
does  not  claim  to  have  taken.  Jerusalem.  According  to  2  Kings 
18  :  14,  ff.,  Hezekiah  submitted  to  Sennacherib,  sending  his  mes¬ 
senger  to  Lachish  for  the  purpose,  and  paid  him  a  heavy  tribute; 
according  to  2  Kings  19  ;  35,  ff.,  a  great  disaster  so  weakened  Sen¬ 
nacherib’s  army  that  he  was  obliged  to  withdraw.  Schrader  called 
attention  to  the  close  correspondence  between  2  Kings  18  :  14  and 
Sennacherib.  Both  state  that  Hezekiah  paid  30  talents  of  gold, 
though  they  differ  as  to  the  amount  of  silver,  Kings  making  it  300 
talents,  while.  Sennacherib  makes  it  800.  It  was  supposed  that  the 
numbers  in  the  case  of  the  silver  were  really  equivalent  to  one  an¬ 
other,  the  present  divergence  being  due  to  textual  corruption. 

1From  Abel  und  Winckler’s  Keilschriftfexte,  p.  17,  line  9,  ff. 

2  From  Vorderasiatische  Schriftdenkmaler  der  koniglichen  Museen  zn  Berlin,  I,  75. 

3  Keilinschriflen  und  das  Alte  Testament,  1872,  168,  ff. 


LIGHT  ON  THE  BOOKS  OF  KINGS 


375 


Assyrian  kings  never  record  their  failures,  but  Sennacherib’s  ad¬ 
mission  that  he  did  not  take  the  city  was  held  to  be  confirmation  of 
2  Kings  19  :  35,  ff.,  which  describes  a  great  destruction  of  the 
Assyrian  army  and  a  signal  deliverance  of  Jerusalem. 

2.  A  second  view,  of  which  Prof.  Meinhold,1  of  Bonn,  may  be 
taken  as  the  chief  exponent,  starts  from  the  fact  that  there  seem 
to  be  two  accounts  in  2  Kings  18  and  19.  In  18  :  13-16  there  is  a 
statement  of  how  Hezekiah  sent  to  Sennacherib,  while  Sennacherib 
was  besieging  Lachish,  and  admitted  that  he  had  done  wrong  and 
promised  to  bear  whatever  Sennacherib  might  choose  to  put  upon 
him.  Sennacherib  thereupon  imposed  a  heavy  tribute  upon  him, 
which  he  paid.  The  whole  transaction  seems  to  be  concluded,  when 
at  v.  17  the  Tartan,  or  Rabsaris  (Rabshakeh),  appears  upon  the 
scene  and  taunts  Hezekiah  for  his  obstinacy  and  he  submits  again. 
Possibly  this  might  be  considered  the  details  of  the  transaction  that 
was  described  in  mere  outline  in  18  :  13-16.  When,  however,  it 
has  all  been  described  again,  and  the  Rabshakeh  has  returned  to 
Sennacherib  at  Lachish,  Sennacherib  again  sends  messengers 
(chapter  19  :  9),  again  demanding  a  surrender.  These  messengers 
are  said  to  have  been  sent  when  Sennacherib  heard  that  Tirhakah, 
King  of  Ethiopia,  was  marching  against  him.  This  narrative  goes 
on  to  tell  how  Hezekiah,  acting  under  the  advice  of  Isaiah,  delayed 
his  surrender,  and  how  the  camp  of  the  Assyrians  was  decimated  by 
the  angel  of  the  Lord,  and  Jerusalem  escaped. 

Meinhold  and  his  followers  hold  that  there  are  here  two  incon¬ 
sistent  accounts.  According  to  the  first,  Hezekiah  surrendered; 
according  to  the  second,  he  did  not.  According  to  the  first,  Heze¬ 
kiah  paid  tribute;  according  to  the  second,  Sennacherib’s  army  was 
destroyed.  The  first  of  these  accounts  is  confirmed  by  Sennach¬ 
erib’s  inscription;  the  second  is,  so  Meinhold  holds,  shown  by  it  to 
be  unhistorical :  first,  by  the  fact  that  Sennacherib  gives  no  hint  that 
his  army  was  harmed,  and,  secondly,  by  the  mention  of  Tirhakah, 
who  did  hot  come  to  the  throne  until  688  b.  c.,  and  could  not, 
therefore,  have  been  a  factor  in  the  war  of  701  b.  c. 

A  third  view  was  suggested  by  Winckler2  and  is  held  by  Prasek,3 
Fullerton,4  and  Rogers.5  According  to  this  view,  Sennacherib 

1  Meinhold,  Die  Jesaiaerzahlungen,  Jes.  36-39,  1898. 

2  Winckler,  Alttestamentliche  Untersuchungen,  1892,  pp.  27-50. 

3  Prasek,  Sanheribs  Feldziige  gegen  Juda,  1903. 

4  In  Bibliotheca  Sacra,  LXIII  (1906),  577-634. 

5  Cuneiform  Parallels  to  the  Old  Testament,  1912,  332-340. 


376 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


made  two  expeditions  against  Jerusalem,  and  2  Kings  18  :  13 — 19  :  8 
is  an  account  of  the  first  of  these  (the  expedition  of  701),  while  2 
Kings  19  :  9-36  is  the  account  of  the  second, — an  expedition  which 
did  not  occur  until  after  the  accession  of  Tirhakah,  eight  or  ten 
years  later.  The  inscription  of  Sennacherib,  already  quoted, 
refers  to  the  first  of  these  expeditions  only.  We  have  no  inscrip¬ 
tion  of  Sennacherib  referring  to  the  later  disastrous  campaign,  but 
that  is  not  surprising,  for  unless  the  account  of  his  expedition  against 
the  queen  of  Arabia,  already  quoted  above,  belongs  to  this  period, 
we  have  no  inscriptions  referring  to  the  last  eight  years  of  his  reign. 
It  is  thought  by  the  scholars  who  believe  that  there  were  two  expe¬ 
ditions,  that  Sennacherib  would  approach  the  queen  of  Arabia  only 
from  the  west,  so  that  that  inscription  is  regarded  as  an  incidental 
confirmation  of  this  view.  Of  course,  an  Assyrian  king  would  not 
record  a  disaster. 

The  account  in  2  Kings  19  : 9-36  receives  confirmation  from  an 
interesting  passage  in  Herodotus,  the  Greek  “father  of  history.” 
He  says  (Book  II,  141) : 

And  after  this  the  next  king  [of  Egypt]  was  a  priest  of  Hephaistos,  called 
Sethos.  He  held  the  warrior  class  of  the  Egyptians  in  contempt  as  though  he 
had  no  need  of  them.  He  did  them  dishonor  and  deprived  them  of  the  arable 
lands  which  had  been  granted  them  by  previous  kings,  twelve  acres  to  each 
soldier.  And  afterward  Sennacherib,  King  of  the  Arabians  and  Assyrians, 
marched  a  great  army  into  Egypt.  Then  the  soldiers  of  Egypt  would  not  help 
him;  whereupon  the  priest  went  into  the  inner  sanctuary  to  the  image  of  the  god 
and  bewailed  the  things  which  he  was  in  danger  of  suffering.  As  he  wept  he  fell 
asleep,  and  there  appeared  to  him  in  a  vision  the  god  standing  over  him  to  en¬ 
courage  him,  saying  that,  when  he  went  forth  to  meet  the  Arabian  army  he 
would  suffer  no  harm,  for  he  himself  would  send  him  helpers.  Trusting  to  this 
dream  he  collected  those  Egyptians  who  were  willing  to  follow  him  and  marched 
to  Pelusium,  where  the  entrance  to  his  country  was.  None  of  the  warriors  fol¬ 
lowed  him,  but  traders,  artisans,  and  market  men.  There,  as  the  two  armies  lay 
opposite  to  each  other,  there  came  in  the  night  a  multitude  of  field  mice,  which  ate 
up  all  the  quivers  and  bowstrings  of  the  enemy,  and  the  thongs  of  their  shields. 
In  consequence,  on  the  next  day  they  fled,  and,  being  deprived  of  their  arms, 
many  of  them  fell.  And  there  stands  now  in  the  temple  of  Hephaistos  a  stone 
statue  of  this  king  holding  a  mouse  in  his  hand,  bearing  an  inscription  which 
says:  “Let  any  who  look  on  me  reverence  the  gods.” 


George  Adam  Smith1  pointed  out  several  years  ago  that,  when  this 
passage  is  compared  with  2  Kings  19  :  36,  it  points  clearly  to  the 
conclusion  that  Sennacherib’s  army  was  attacked  by  bubonic  plague. 
In  modern  times  this  plague  first  attacks  rats  and  mice,  which  in 


1  Historical  Geography  of  the  Holy  Land,  158,  ff. 


LIGHT  ON  THE  BOOKS  OF  KINGS 


377 


their  suffering  swarm  the  dwellings  of  men  and  spread  the  disease. 
The  Hebrews  regarded  the  attack  of  such  a  plague  as  a  smiting  by 
the  angel  of  God.  This  is  shown  by  2  Sam.  24  :  16,  17 ;  Acts  12  :  23; 
2  Kings  19  :  36.  Such  a  pestilence  would  render  the  Assyrian  army 
helpless,  and  would  be  regarded  by  the  Hebrews  as  a  divine  inter¬ 
vention  on  their  behalf.  As  it  is  supported  by  both  the  book  of 
Kings  and  Herodotus,  it  probably  affords  us  a  clue  to  what  really 
happened  to  Sennacherib’s  army. 

We  hold,  then,  that  the  last  of  the  three  views  concerning  the 
campaigns  of  Sennacherib  to  Palestine  is  probably  correct. 

The  Elteke  mentioned  in  the  inscription  of  Sennacherib  is  the 
city  referred  to  in  Josh.  19  :  44  and  21  :  23.  The  Merodachbaladan 
referred  to  is  mentioned  in  Isa.  39  :  1,  where  it  is  said  that  he  sent 
to  congratulate  Hezekiah  upon  his  recovery  from  sickness.  It  is 
clear  from  what  the  Assyrian  accounts  tell  us  that  his  real  motive  in 
sending  to  Hezekiah  was  to  induce  him  to  rebel  against  Assyria. 

12.  The  Siloam  Inscription. 

The  following  inscription  wras  discovered  in  1880  on  the  right  wall 
of  the  tunnel  which  connects  the  Virgin’s  Well  (Ain  Sitti  Maryam) 
at  Jerusalem  with  the  Pool  of  Siloam  (Birket  Silwan). 

The  boring  through  [is  completed].  And  this  is  the  story  of  the  boring  through : 
while  yet  [they  plied]  the  drill,  each  toward  his  fellow,  and  while  yet  there  were 
three  cubits  to  be  bored  through,  there  was  heard  the  voice  of  one  calling  unto 
another,  for  there  was  a  crevice  in  the  rock  on  the  right  hand.  And  on  the  day 
of  the  boring  through  the  stone-cutters  struck,  each  to  meet  his  fellow,  drill  upon 
drill;  and  the  waters  flowed  from  the  source  to  the  pool  for  a  thousand  and  two 
hundred  cubits,  and  a  hundred  cubits  was  the  height  of  the  rock  above  the  heads 
of  the  stone-cutters;1  (see  Fig.  297). 

This  inscription,  though  not  dated,  is  believed  to  come  from  the 
time  of  Hezekiah.  Hezekiah  is  said  in  2  Kings  20  :  20  to  have  built 
a  conduit  and  to  have  brought  the  water  into  the  city.  This  in¬ 
scription  wras  found  in  a  remarkable  conduit  which  still  runs  under 
the  hill  at  Jerusalem,  cut  through  the  solid  rock.  It  is  about  1,700 
feet  long.  It  was  cleared  of  silt  by  the  Parker  expedition  of  1909- 
1911,  and  the  tunnel  is  about  6  feet  in  height  throughout  its  entire 
length.  When  it  was  cut  the  wall  of  Jerusalem  crossed  the  Tyro- 
pceon  Valley  just  below  it,  so  that,  while  the  Virgin’s  Spring  (the 
Biblical  Gihon)  lay  outside  the  walls,  this  aqueduct  brought  the 
water  to  a  pool  within  the  walls,  so  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  city 


1  Translated  from  a  facsimile  in  the  Kautzsch-Gesenius,  Hebraische  Grammatik,  1902. 


378 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


could,  in  case  of  siege,  fill  their  water-jars  without  exposing  them¬ 
selves  to  the  enemy. 

The  inscription  is  now  in  the  Imperial  Ottoman  Museum  at 
Constantinople. 

13.  Esarhaddon,  681-668  B.  C. 

I  overthrew  the  kings  of  the  Hittite  country  and  those  beyond  the  sea;  Baal, 
King  of  Tyre,  Manassah,  King  of  Judah,  Kaushgabri,  King  of  Edom,  Musuri, 
King  of  Moab,  Silbaal,  King  of  Gaza,  Mitinti,  King  of  Askelon,  Ikausu,  King 
of  Ekron,  Milkiashapa,  King  of  Gebal,  Matanbaal,  King  of  Arvad,  Abibaal, 
King  of  Shamsimuruna,  Puduel,  King  of  Beth-Ammon,  Ahi-milku,  King  of  Ash- 
dod,  12  kings  of  the  sea-coast;  Ekishtura,  King  of  Idalion,  Pilagura,  King  of  Kiti, 
Kisu,  King  of  Sillua,  Ituander,  King  of  Paphos,  Erisu,  King  of  Sillu,  Damasu, 
King  of  Kuri,  Atmizu,  King  of  Tamesu,  Damusi,  King  of  Kartihadasti,  Unasa- 
gusu,  King  of  Lidir,  Bususu,  King  of  Nurenu;  10  kings  of  Cyprus  in  the  midst  of 
the  sea — altogether  22  kings  of  the  Hittite  land,  of  the  sea-coast  and  the  midst 
of  the  sea — I  sent  to  them  and  great  cedar  beams,  etc . [they  sent].1 

Esarhaddon,  the  author  of  the  inscription  from  which  this  ex¬ 
tract  is  taken,  is  mentioned  in  2  Kings  19  :  37  and  Isa.  37  :  38  as 
Sennacherib’s  successor,  a  statement  which  the  inscriptions  abun¬ 
dantly  confirm.  The  above  quotation  from  his  inscription  shows 
that  Manasseh,  King  of  Judah,  2  Kings  20  :  21  and  chapter  21,  was 
a  vassal  of  Esarhaddon.  Esarhaddon  is  also  alluded  to  in  Ezra  4:2. 

14.  Ashurbanipal  of  Assyria,  668-626  B.  C. 

In  my  third  campaign  I  marched  against  Baal,  King  of  Tyre,  who  dwelt  in  the 
midst  of  the  sea.  Because  he  had  not  kept  the  word  of  my  lordship  nor  heeded 
the  utterance  of  my  lips,  I  erected  against  him  siege-works  and  cut  off  his  exit 
both  by  land  and  sea;  their  lives  I  made  narrow  and  straitened;  I  caused  them  to 
submit  to  my  yoke.  They  brought  the  daughters  that  came  forth  from  his 
loins  and  the  daughters  of  his  brothers  into  my  presence  to  become  concubines. 
Yahimilki,  his  son,  who  had  never  crossed  the  sea,  they  brought  at  the  same 
time  to  do  me  service.  His  daughter  and  the  daughters  of  his  brothers  with  an 
abundant  dowry  I  received  from  him.  I  granted  him  favor  and  returned  to  him 
the  son  that  came  forth  from  his  loins.2 

.Yakinlu,  King  of  Arvad,  who  dwells  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  who  had  not  sub¬ 
mitted  to  the  kings,  my  fathers,  I  brought  under  my  yoke.  He  brought  his 
daughter  to  Nineveh  with  an  abundant  dowry  and  kissed  my  feet . 

On  my  return  I  captured  Ushu,  which  is  situated  on  the  coast  of  the  sea. 
The  inhabitants  of  Ushu,  who  had  not  been  obedient  to  their  governors,  who  had 
not  paid  their  tribute,  I  killed  as  the  tribute  of  their  land.  Among  the  rebellious 
peoples  I  set  my  staff.  Their  gods  and  their  peoples  I  carried  as  booty  to  Assy¬ 
ria.  .  The  people  of  A  echo  who  had  not  submitted  I  subdued.  I  hung  their 
bodies  on  stakes  around  the  city.  The  rest  I  took  to  Assyria;  I  preserved  them 
and  added  them  to  the  numerous  army  which  Ashur  had  given  unto  me.3 

1  Translated  from  Rawlinson’s  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  16,  col.  v, 
line  12,  ff. 

•Ibid.,  Vol.  V,  2,  49,  f. 

•Ibid.,  9,  115,  f. 


LIGHT  ON  THE  BOOKS  OF  KINGS 


379 


These  extracts  from  the  inscriptions  of  Ashurbanipal  show  that 
during  the  reign  of  Manasseh  he  was  active  in  reducing  the  rebel¬ 
lions  of  Phoenician  cities,  some  of  which,  as  Tyre  and  Accho,  were 
at  the  doors  of  Palestine.  No  doubt  Manasseh  continued  to  pay 
him  tribute  and  so  was  not  molested.  The  name  of  Ashurbanipal 
is  preserved  in  Ezra  4  :  10  in  the  corrupt  form  of  Osnappar. 

15.  Necho  of  Egypt,  609-593  B.  C. 

Year  16,  fourth  month  of  the  first  season,  day  16,  under  the  majesty  of  Horus: 
Wise-hearted;  king  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt;  Favorite  of  the  two  goddesses: 
Triumphant;  Golden  Horus:  Beloved-of-the-Gods;  Uhemibre;  Son  of  Ra,  of  his 
body,  his  beloved:  Necho,  living  forever,  beloved  of  Apis,  son  of  Osiris.1 

(An  account  of  the  interment  of  an  Apis  bull  then  follows.) 

The  above  is  the  beginning  of  an  inscription  of  Pharaoh  Necho, 
whose  defeat  of  King  Josiah,  of  Judah,  is  recorded  in  2  Kings  23  : 
29,  f.  He  became  over-lord  of  Judah  for  four  years  and  placed 
Jehoiakim  on  the  Judaean  throne  (2  Kings  23  :34).  Necho  was 
himself  defeated  at  Carchemish  on  the  Euphrates  by  Nebuchad¬ 
rezzar,  of  Babylon,  in  604  b.  c.,  and  as  he  retreated  to  Egypt 
Nebuchadrezzar  pursued  him  through  Palestine.  The  book  of 
Jeremiah  speaks  of  this  defeat  and  vividly  describes  the  pursuit 
which  followed.  (Cf.  Jer.  46  :  2,  f.) 

16.  Nebuchadrezzar  II,  604-562  B.  C. 

Many  inscriptions  of  Nebuchadrezzar  are  known,  but  most  of 
them  relate  to  buildings.  The  following  extracts  are  those  which 
best  illustrate  the  Bible. 

In  exalted  trust  in  him  (Marduk)  distant  countries,  remote  mountains  from 
the  upper  sea  (Mediterranean)  to  the  lower  sea  (Persian  Gulf),  steep  paths, 
blockaded  roads,  where  the  step  is  impeded,  [where]  was  no  footing,  difficult 
roads,  desert  paths,  I  traversed,  and  the  disobedient  I  destroyed;  I  captured  the 
enemies,  established  justice  in  the  lands;  the  people  I  exalted;  the  bad  and  evil 
I  separated  from  the  people.2 

Reference  to  the  Lebanon 

From  the  upper  sea  to  the  lower  sea, . [which]  Marduk,  my  lord,  had 

entrusted  to  me,  in  [all]  lands,  the  totality  [of  dwelling-places]  I  [exalted]  the 
city  of  Babylon  to  the  first  place.  I  caused  his  name  to  be  reverenced  among  the 
cities;  the  shrines  of  Nabu  and  Marduk,  my  lords,  I  made  them  recognize,  con¬ 
tinually . At  that  time  the  Lebanon  mountain,  the  mountain  [of 

cedar],  the  proud  forest  of  Marduk,  the  odor  of  whose  cedars  is  good . 

of  another  god . no  other  king  had . my  god,  Marduk,  the 


1  From  Breasted’s  Ancient  Records,  Egypt,  IV,  498. 

2  Translated  from  Rawlinson’s  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  I,  33,  col.  ii,  line  12,  ff. 


380 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


king  to  the  palace  of  the  princes . of  heaven  and  earth  shone  as  adorn¬ 
ment  . Asa  foreign  enemy  had  taken  possession  of  (the  mountain)  and 

seized  its  riches,  its  people  had  fled  and  taken  refuge  at  a  distance.  In  the  power 
of  Nabu  and  Marduk,  my  lords,  I  drew  up  [my  soldiers,  for  battle]  in  mount 
Lebanon.  Its  enemy  T  dislodged  above  and  below  and  made  glad  the  heart  of 
the  land.  I  collected  its  scattered  people  and  returned  them  to  their  place.  I 
did  what  no  former  king  had  done;  I  cleft  high  mountains,  stones  of  the  mountain 
I  quarried,  I  opened  passes.  I  made  a  straight  road  for  the  cedars.  Mighty 
cedars  they  were,  tall  and  strong,  of  wonderful  beauty,  whose  dark  appearance 

was  remarkable, — the  mighty  products  of  mount  Lebanon . I  made 

the  people  of  mount  Lebanon  to  lie  down  in  abundance;  I  permitted  no  adversary 
to  possess  it.  That  none  might  do  harm  I  set  up  my  royal  image  forever.1 

A  Building  Inscription 

Nebuchadrezzar,  King  of  Babylon,  the  restorer  of  Esagila  and  Ezida,  son  of 
Nabopolassar  am  I.  As  a  protection  to  Esagila,  that  no  powerful  enemy  and 
destroyer  might  take  Babylon,  that  the  line  of 'battle  might  not  approach  Imgur- 
Bel,  the  wall  of  Babylon,  that  which  no  former  king  had  done  [I  did];  at  the 
enclosure  of  Babylon  I  made  an  enclosure  of  a  strong  wall  on  the  east  side.  I 
dug  a  moat,  I  reached  the  level  -of  the  water.  I  then  saw  that  the  wall  which 
my  father  had  prepared  was  too  small  in  its  construction.  I  built  with  bitumen 
and  brick  a  mighty  wall  which,  like  a  mountain,  could  not  be  moved  and  con¬ 
nected  it  with  the  wall  of  my  father;  I  laid  its  foundations  on  the  breast  of  the 
under- world;  its  top  I  raised  up  like  a  mountain.  Along  this  wall  to  strengthen 
it  I  constructed  a  third  and  as  the  base  of  a  protecting  wall  I  laid  a  foundation  of 
bricks  and  built  it  on  the  breast  of  the  under-world  and  laid  its  foundation.  The 
fortifications  of  Esagila  and  Babylon  I  strengthened  and  established  the  name 
of  my  reign  forever. 

O  Marduk,  lord  of  the  gods,  my  divine  creator,  may  my  deeds  find  favor  before 
thee;  may  they  endure  forever!  Eternal  life,  satisfied  with  posterity,  a  secure 
throne,  and  a  long  reign  grant  as  thy  gift.  Thou  art  indeed  my  deliverer  and 
my  help,  O  Marduk,  I  by  thy  faithful  word  which  does  not  change — may  my 
weapons,  advance,  be  sharp  and  be  stronger  than  the  weapon  of  the  foe!2 

Nebuchadrezzar  was  the  king  who  destroyed  Jerusalem  and  car¬ 
ried  the  more  prominent  of  the  people  of  Judah  captive.  (See  2 
Kings  24  and  25.)  His  inscriptions  give  no  account  of  these  events. 
In  the  first  of  the  quotations  made  above  he  covers  all  his  con¬ 
quests  by  one  general  reference.  In  the  second  quotation  he  gives  a 
more  detailed  account  of  his  conquest  of  the  Lebanon,  because  that 
inscription  was  carved  on  the  rocks  at  the  side  of  one  of  the  deep  val¬ 
leys  of  the  Lebanon.  The  third  inscription,  relating  to  the  building 
of  Babylon,  has  been  strikingly  confirmed  by  Koldewey’s  excava¬ 
tion  of  Babylon,  by  which  the  massive  walls  and  extensive  temples 
were  uncovered.3  It  also  gives  us  a  background  for  Daniel  4  :  29, 

1  Translated  from  Pognon,  Les  inscriptions  babyloniennes  du  Wadi  Brissa,  PI.  xiii,  f.,  and 
Recueil  de  Iraveaux  relatifs  a  la  philologie  el  d  V  archeologie  egyptiennes  et  assyriennes,  XXVIII,  57. 
See  also  Langdon,  N eubabylonischen  Kbnigsinschriften,  174,  ff. 

2  Translated  from  the  Zeitschrift  fiir  Assyriologie,  I,  337,  f. 

*  See  Part  I,  Chapter  II,  p.  46,  f. 


LIGHT  ON  THE  BOOKS  OF  KINGS 


381 


where  Nebuchadrezzar  is  said  to  have  walked  upon1  the  royal  palace 
and  said:  “Is  not  this  great  Babylon  which  I  have  built?” 

17.  Evil-Merodach,  562-560  B.  C. 

Nebuchadrezzar  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Amil-Marduk,  whom 
the  Bible  (2  Kings  25  :  27)  calls  Evil-Merodach.  The  only  inscrip¬ 
tion  of  his  that  has  been  found  is  the  following,  inscribed  on  an 
alabaster  vase  found  at  Susa,  whither  the  Elamites  had  at  some  time 
carried  it  as  booty:2 

Palace  of  Amil-Marduk,  King  of  Babylon,  son  of  Nebuchadrezzar,  King  of 
Babylon. 

This  is  the  king  who  released  Jehoiachin,  King  of  Judah,  from 
prison  after  his  thirty-six  years  in  confinement  and  treated  him 
kindly. 

1  This  is  the  reading  of  the  margin  in  R.  V.,  and  correctly  translates  the  original.  He  was 
not  walking  “in”  the  palace,  but  upon  its  flat  roof,  from  which  he  could  see  the  great  city. 

1  From  de  Morgan’s  Delegation  en  Perse,  Vol.  XIV,  p.  60. 


Note  on  the  Land  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba. — This  region,  which  lay  in 
South  Arabia,  was  explored  during  the  nineteenth  century  by  a  number  of 
travelers.  Three  of  these,  Thomas  J.  Arnaud  in  1843,  Joseph  Halevy  in 
1869,  and  Eduard  Glaser  who  made  four  expeditions  between  1882  and  1894, 
brought  back  from  South  Arabia  many  inscriptions,  several  of  which  were 
made  by  rulers  of  Saba,  the  Biblical  Sheba,  whose  queen  is  said  to  have  vis¬ 
ited  Solomon  (1  Kings  10  :  1-13).  As  none  of  these  relate  to  that  queen,  it 
has  not  seemed  fitting  to  include  one  of  them.  The  inscriptions,  however, 
show  that  two  important  kingdoms  existed  there,  Saba  and  Main.  Main  is 
thought  by  some  to  be  related  to  the  Biblical  Midianites.  The  Greek  ver¬ 
sion  of  Job  makes  Job’s  friend,  Zophar,  king  of  Main.  The  kingdom  of  Saba 
lasted  until  115  b.  c.  It  established  strong  colonies  in  Africa.  In  115  b.  c. 
one  colony  overthrew  the  mother-country  and  established  the  kingdom  of 
Saba  and  Raidhan,  which  lasted  till  about  300  a.  d.  After  that  Saba  became 
apparently  unimportant,  but  various  Semitic  kingdoms  succeeded  one  another 
in  Africa,  including  the  present-day  Abyssinian  kingdom.  The  Abyssinian 
king  claims  descent  from  Solomon  and  the  Queen  of  Sheba. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


THE  END  OF  THE  BABYLONIAN  EXILE 

Inscriptions  of  Nabuna’id;  Their  Bearing  on  Biblical  Statements  Regarding 
Belshazzar.  Account  of  the  Capture  of  Babylon  Bearing  on  the  Book  of 
Daniel.  Inscription  of  Cyrus  Bearing  on  the  Capture  of  Babylon.  Cyrus’ 
Permission  for  the  Return  to  Jerusalem. 


1.  Inscriptions  of  Nabuna’id. 

Several  inscriptions  of  this  king,  who  ruled  555-538  b.  c.,  are 
known,  but  only  a  brieli  extract  of  one  of  them  is  given  here,  as  the 
major  part  of  the  material  has  no  bearing  on  the  Bible. 

Nabuna’id,  King  of  Babylon,  the  restorer  of  Esagila  and  Ezida,  the  worshiper 


of  the  great  gods  am  I . O  Sin,  lord  of  the  gods  of  heaven  and  earth, 

god  of  the  gods, . as  for  me,  Nabuna’id,  King  of  Babylon,  save  me  from 


sinning  against  thy  great  divinity.  A  life  of  many  days  grant  as  thy  gift.  As 
for  Belshazzar,  the  firstborn  son,  proceeding  from  my  loins,  place  in  his  heart  fear 
of  thy  great  divinity;  let  him  not  turn  to  sinning;  let  him  be  satisfied  with  fulness 
of  life!1 

Belshazzar  is  here  said  to  be  the  son  of  Nabuna’id,  whereas  in 
Dan.  5  :  11,  18  Nebuchadrezzar  is  called  his  father.  Nabuna’id, 
as  the  Babylonian  documents  show,  was  not  a  descendant  of 
Nebuchadrezzar,  but  a  usurper  of  another  family.  Some  scholars 
hold  that  this  shows  the  book  of  Daniel  to  be  in  error,  while  others 
hold  that  “father”  in  Dan.  5  :  11,  18  is  equivalent  to  “ancestor,” 
and  think  Belshazzar  may  have  been  descended  from  Nebuchad¬ 
rezzar  on  his  mother’s  side. 

The  Nabuna’id-Cyrus  Chronicle 

This  chronicle  is  known  only  from  a  tablet  which  is  somewhat 
broken.  The  following  extract  will  show  the  nature  of  its  contents: 

In  the  9th  year  Nabuna’id  was  at  Tema.  The  son  of  the  king,  the  princes, 
and  soldiers  were  in  Akkad.  The  king  did  not  come  to  Babylon  in  Nisan, 
Nebo  did  not  go  to  Babylon.  Bel  did  not  go  out.  The  festival  sacrifice  was 
omitted.  They  offered  sacrifices  in  Esagila  and  Ezida  on  account  of  Babylon 
and  Borsippa,  that  the  land  might  prosper.  On  the  5th  of  the  month,  Nisan 

1  From  Rawlinson’s  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  V,  68,  No.  1. 

382 


THE  END  OF  THE  BABYLONIAN  EXILE  383 


the  mother  of  the  king,  died  in  Dur-karashu  on  the  bank  of  the  Euphrates  above 
Sippar.  The  son  of  th e  king  and  the  soldiers  mourned  three  days.  In  the  month 
Sivan  there  was  mourning  for  the  king’s  mother  in  Akkad. 

In  the  month  Nisan  Cyrus,  King  of  Persia,  mustered  his  soldiers,  and  crossed 

the  Tigris  below  Arbela  and  in  the  month  Iyyar  went  to  the  land  of . 

its  king  he  killed,  he  took  his  possessions.  His  own  governor  (?)  he  placed  in  it 
. afterward  his  governor  (?)  and  a  king  (?)  were  there.1 


2.  Bearing  on  Biblical  Statements  Regarding  Belshazzar. 

Similar  chronicles  are  given  by  the  tablet  for  other  years.  It  is 
stated  each  time  what  Nabuna’id  was  doing;  where  the  king’s  son 
(Belshazzar)  was,  and  what  Cyrus  was  doing.  Cyrus,  who  over¬ 
threw  the  Median  king  in  553  b.  c.,  was  occupied  for  several  years 
in  subjugating  other  lands  before  he  attacked  Babylon.  He  over¬ 
threw  Croesus,  King  of  Lydia,  in  546.  It  wrould  seem  that  it  was 
wrell  known  in  Babylonia  what  he  was  doing  each  year.  Those 
scholars  who  believe  that  Isaiah  40 — 55  is  the  w7ork  of  a  prophet 
who  lived  during  the  Babylonian  Exile,  claim  that  this  chronicle 
explains  how  that  prophet  could  refer  in  Isa.  44  :  28;  45  :  1  to 
Cyrus  as  a  well-known  figure.  They  see  the  exercise  of  the  pro¬ 
phetic  gift  of  the  prophet  in  the  faith  which  he  had  that  Cyrus 
would  release  Israel  from  captivity.  Those  who  believe  that  the 
whole  of  the  book  of  Isaiah  is  the  work  of  the  son  of  Amoz,  see  in 
these  verses  pure  prediction  of  the  rise  of  Cyrus  as  well  as  of  the 
release  of  the  Jewrs. 

3.  Account  of  the  Capture  of  Babylon. 

From  the  chronicle  just  quoted  we  have  the  following  state¬ 
ment  for  the  17th  year  of  the  reign  of  Nabuna’id: 


. Nebo  to  go  forth  from  Borsippa . ; . the  king  entered  the 

temple  of  Edurkalama.  In  the  month . in  the  lower  sea  a  revolt 

. . . . Bel  came  out;  the  feast  of  Akiti  (Sept. -Oct.) ,  according  to  the  cus¬ 
tom  . the  gods  of  Marad,  Zagaga,  and  the  gods  of  Kish,  Beltis,  and  the 

gods  of  Harsagkalama  entered  Babylon.  Unto  the  end  of  Elul  (Aug.-Sept.) 
the  gods  of  Borsippa,  Cutha,  and  Sippar  did  not  enter.  In  the  month  Tammuz 
(June— July)  Cyrus,  when  he  made  battle  in  Opis,  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
Zalzallat,  with  the  soldiers  of  Akkad,  conquered  the  inhabitants  of  Akkad. 
When  they  assembled  the  people  were  killed.  On  the  14th  Sippar  was  taken 
without  a  battle.  Nabuna’id  fled.  On  the  16th  Gobryas,  governor  of  the  land 
of  Gutium,  and  the  soldiers  of  Cyrus  entered  Babylon  without  a  battle.  Later 
Nabuna’id  was  captured  because  he  remained  in  Babylon.  To  the  end  of  the 
month  the  shield-bearers  of  the  land  of  Gutium  assembled  at  the  gates  of  Esagila. 
No  weapon  of  any  kind  was  taken  into  Esagila  or  the  temples;  nor  was  the 
standard  raised.  On  the  third  day  of  Marcheswan  (Oct.-Nov.)  Cyrus  entered 
Babylon.  The  walls  (?)  were  broken  down  before  him.  Cyrus  proclaimed 

1  From  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archoeology,  VII,  157,  f. 


384 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


peace  to  all  of  Babylon.  He  appointed  Gobryas  his  satrap,  and  also  prefects  in 
Babylon.  From  Kisleu  (Nov.-Dee.)  unto  Adar  (Feb.-March),  the  gods  of 
Akkad,  whom  Nabuna’id  had  brought  to  Babylon,  returned  to  their  cities.  In 

the  month  Marcheswan,  on  the  night  of  the  11th,  Gobryas  unto . the 

son  of  the  king  was  killed.  From  the  27th  of  Adar  to  the  3rd  of  Nisan  there  was 
lamentation  in  Akkad.  All  the  people  bowed  their  heads.  On  the  4th  day 
Cambyses,  the  son  of  Cyrus,  went  to  Eshapakalama.1 

4.  Bearing  of  This  Account  on  the  Book  of  Daniel. 

This  interesting  text  here  becomes  too  broken  for  connected- 
translation.  It  is  clear  that  the  document  means  to  state  that 
Nabuna’id  was  king  of  Babylon  when  it  was  captured,  and  not 
Belshazzar,  as  stated  in  Daniel  5  :  30.  It  states,  also,  that  Cyrus 
captured  Babylon  and  not  Darius  the  Mede,  as  in  Dan.  5  :  31.  It 
is  true  that  Gobryas  took  Babylon  first,  and  occupied  it  about  two 
weeks  before  Cyrus  arrived.  He  was,  however,  Cyrus’s  officer 
and  was  acting  in  his  name.  Critical  scholars,  who  believe  that 
Daniel  was  written  168-165  b.  c.,  find  in  these  statements  a  con¬ 
firmation  of  their  views.  They  think  its  author  lived  so  far  from 
the  events  that  he  confused  their  exact  order.  Those  who  defend 
the  traditional  date  of  Daniel  think  that  Gobryas  is  meant  by 
Darius  the  Mede,  and  see  in  the  exalted  position  which  Belshazzar 
held,  as  crown  prince  and  commander  of  the  army,  sufficient  ground 
for  the  Biblical  statement  that  he  was  king.  By  such  interpreta¬ 
tions  they  harmonize  this  chronicle  with  the  Bible. 

Dr.  Theophilus  G.  Pinches  has  recently  published2  some  extracts 
from  two  tablets  from  Erech  which  are  in  the  possession  of  an 
Englishman,  Mr.  Harding  Smith,  which  throw  some  additional 
light  on  these  points.  It  was  customary  for  Babylonians  in  con¬ 
firming  a  contract  to  swear  by  the  name  of  the  reigning  king,  and 
one  of  these  tablets  contains  a  contract,  dated  in  the  12th  year  of 
Nabuna’id,  in  which  a  man  bound  himself  by  the  oath  of  Nabuna’id, 
King  of  Babylon,  and  of  Belshazzar,  the  king’s  son.  As  Belshazzar 
is  here  associated  with  the  king,  he  must  have  been  but  slightly 
lower  in  rank  and  power  than  the  king  himself. 

This  is  confirmed  by  a  tablet  at  Yale,  recently  published  by 
Prof.  Clay.3  The  text  contains  the  interpretation  of  a  dream  for 
the  King  Nabuna’id  and  for  his  son  Belshazzar.  It  is  dated  in  the 
seventh  year  of  the  reign  of  Nabuna’id. 

1From  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology ,  VII,  162,  £.,  and  Clay,  Light  on  the 
Old  Testament  from  Babel ,  374,  f. 

2  See  Expository  Times,  Vol.  XXVI,  297-299  (April,  1915). 

*  Babylonian  Texts  from  the  Yale  Collection,  No.  39. 


THE  END  OF  THE  BABYLONIAN  EXILE  385 


The  other  tablet  quoted  by  Pinches  shows  that  in  the  fourth 
year  of  Cambyses  (i.  e.,  524  b.  c.),  Gobryas  was  still  governor  of 
Babylon.  If  he  is  the  man  who  in  Daniel  is  called  Darius  the 
Mede,  he  exercised  the  powers  of  governor  in  Babylon  for  a  consid¬ 
erable  number  of  years. 

5.  Inscription  of  Cyrus. 

The  following  is  an  inscription  of  Cyrus.  The  lines  are  much 
broken  at  the  beginning,  but  it  reads  as  follows  d 

. . begat  (?)  him . . [the  four]  regions 

of  the  world . great  coward  was  established  as  ruler  over  the  land . . 

. a  similar  one  he  set  over  them;  like  Esagila  he  made . to  Ur 

and  the  rest  of  the  cities  a  rule  not  suitable  for  them . he  planned  daily 

and  in  enmity  he  caused  the  established  sacrifice  to  cease.  He  appointed 

. he  established  within  the  city.  The  worship  of  Marduk,  king  of  the 

gods . he  wrought  hostility  against  his  city  daily . his 

[people]  all  of  them  he  destroyed  through  servitude,  without  rest.  On  account 
of  their  lamentation  the  lord  of  the  gods  was  exceedingly  angry  and  [left]  their 
territory;  the  gods  who  dwelt  among  them  left  their  dwellings.  In  anger  because 
he  brought  [them]  into  Babylon,  Marduk . to  return  to  all  the  dwell¬ 

ings,  their  habitations,  which  were  overthrown.  The  people  of  Sumer  and  Ak¬ 
kad,  who  were  like  corpses,  he  brought  back  and.  . . . . . granted  them  a 

return.  Through  all  lands  he  made  his  way,  he  looked,  he  sought  a  righteous 
prince,  a  being  whom  he  loved,  whom  he  took  by  the  hand.  Cyrus,  King  of 
Anshan,  he  called  by  name  and  designated  him  to  rule  over  all  the  lands.  The 
land  of  Qutu,  all  the  Scythian  hordes,  he  made  to  submit  to  his  feet.  The 
black-headed  people  ( i .  e.,  the  Babylonians),  whom  he  caused  his  hand  to  cap¬ 
ture,  in  faithfulness  and  righteousness  he  sought.  Marduk,  the  great  lord, 
looked  joyfully  upon  the  return  of  his  people,  his  kindly  deeds  and  upright  heart. 
To  his  city,  Babylon,  he  commanded  him  to  go;  he  caused  him  to  take  the  road 
to  Babylon,  going  as  a  friend  and  companion  at  his  side.  His  numerous  army, 
the  number  of  which  was,  like  the  waters  of  a  river,  unknown,  marched  at  his 
side  girded  with  their  weapons.  He  caused  him  to  enter  Babylon  without  war 
or  battle.  He  preserved  his  city,  Babylon,  from  tribulation;  he  filled  his 
(Cyrus’s)  hand  with  Nabuna’id,  the  king  who  did  not  fear  him.  All  the  people 
of  Babylon,  all  of  ’Sumer  and  Akkad,  the  princes  and  governors,  prostrated  them¬ 
selves  under  him  and  kissed  his  feet.  They  rejoiced  in  his  sovereignty;  their 
faces  shone.  The  lord,  who  by  his  power  makes  the  dead  to  live,  who  from  de¬ 
struction  and  injustice  had  saved  them,  altogether  they  blessed  him  in  joy;  they 
revered  his  name. 

I  am  Cyrus,  king  of  the  world,  the  great  king,  the  mighty  king,  king  of  Baby¬ 
lon,  king  of  Sumer  and  Akkad,  king  of  the  four  quarters  of  the  world,  son  of 
Cambyses,  the  great  king,  king  of  Anshan,  grandson  of  Cyrus,  the  great  king, 
king  of  Anshan,  great-grandson  of  Telspes,  the  great  king,  king  of  Anshan;  an 
everlasting  seed  of  royalty,  whose  government  Bel  and  Nabu  love,  whose  reign 
in  the  goodness  of  their  hearts  they  desire.  When  I  entered  in  peace  into  Baby¬ 
lon,  with  joy  and  rejoicing  I  took  up  my  lordly  dwelling  in  the  royal  palace, 
Marduk,  the  great  lord,  moved  the  understanding  heart  of  the  people  of  Babylon 
to  me,  while  I  daily  sought  his  worship.  My  numerous  troops  dwelt  peacefully 
in  Babylon;  in  all  Sumer  and  Akkad  no  terrorizer  did  I  permit.  In  Babylon  and 
all  its  cities  in  peace  I  looked  about.  The  people  of  Babylon  [I  released]  from 
1  From  Rawlinson’s  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  V,  35. 


386 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


an  unsuitable  yoke.  Their  dwellings — their  decay  I  repaired;  their  ruins  I 
cleared  away.  Marduk,  the  great  lord,  rejoiced  at  these  deeds  and  graciously 
blessed  me,  Cyrus,  the  king  who  worships  him,  and  Cambyses,  my  son,  and  all 
my  troops,  while  we  in  peace  joyfully  praised  before  him  his  exalted  divinity. 
All  the  kings  who  dwell  in  palaces,  from  all  quarters  of  the  world,  from  the 
upper  sea  to  the  lower  sea,  who  live  [in  palaces],  all  the  kings  of  the  Westland 
who  live  in  tents,  brought  me  their  heavy  tribute  in  Babylon  and  kissed  my  feet. 

From . to  Ashur  and  Susa,  Agade,  Eshnunak,  Zamban,  Meturnu,  Deri, 

to  the  border  of  Gutium,  the  cities  [beyond]  the  Tigris,  whose  sites  had  been 
founded  of  old, — the  gods  who  dwelt  in  them  I  returned  to  their  places,  and 
caused  them  to  settle  in  their  eternal  shrines.  All  their  people  I  assembled  and 
returned  them  to  their  dwellings.  And  the  gods  of  Sumer  and  Akkad,  whom 
Nabuna’id,  to  the  anger  of  the  lord  of  the  gods,  had  brought  into  Babylon,  at  the 
command  of  Marduk,  the  great  lord,  I  caused  in  peace  to  dwell  in  their  abodes, 
the  dwellings  in  which  their  hearts  delighted.  May  all  the  gods,  whom  I  have 
returned  to  their  cities,  pray  before  Marduk  and  Nabu  for  the  prolonging  of  my 
days,  may  they  speak  a  kind  w'ord  for  me  and  say  to  Marduk,  lord  of  the  gods, 

“May  Cyrus  the  king,  who  fears  thee,  and  Cambyses,  his  son,  their . 

caused  all  to  dwell  in  peace” . 


6.  Bearing  on  the  Capture  of  Babylon  and  the  Return  of  the  Jews. 

This  inscription  confirms  the  statement  of  the  chronicle  a]  ready 
quoted  that  Cyrus  conquered  the  city  of  Babylon  without  a  blow. 
The  most  important  feature  of  it  for  the  student  of  the  Bible  is, 
however,  its  revelation  of  the  reversal  of  the  Assyrian  policy  of 
transportation.  That  policy  had  been  inaugurated  by  Tiglath- 
pileser  IV  more  than  two  hundred  years  before.  In  accordance 
with  it  the  kingdom  of  Israel  had  first  been  stripped  of  its  more 
prominent  inhabitants  who  had  been  carried  captive  to  distant 
lands,  and  then  the  kingdom  of  Judah.  Cyrus  determined  to 
attach  his  subjects  to  himself  by  gratitude  instead  of  terror,  so  he 
permitted,  as  he  says  here,  those  who  had  been  transported  to 
return  to  their  several  countries  and  rebuild  their  temples.  It  was 
in  consequence  of  this  general  policy  that  the  Jews  were  permitted 
to  return  from  Babylonia  and  rebuild  the  temple  at  Jerusalem. 
This  is  referred  to  in  Ezra,  chapter  1.  It  is  there  implied  that 
Cyrus  made  a  special  proclamation  concerning  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem.  Some  scholars  infer  from  the  above  inscription  of 
Cyrus,  that  the  book  of  Ezra  (chapter  1)  has  freely  interpreted  the 
general  policy  of  Cyrus  as  a  special  permission  granted  to  the  Jews. 
It  may  be,  however,  as  others  have  held,  that  a  special  edict  was 
issued  in  favor  of  each  individual  nation  in  order  that  this  general 
policy  might  be  carried  out  without  opposition. 

In  any  event,  the  inscription  confirms  the  statement  of  Ezra  that 
Cyrus  permitted  the  Jews  to  return. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


A  JEWISH  COLONY  IN  EGYPT  DURING  THE  TIME  OF 

NEHEMIAH 

Papyri  Witness  to  the  Existence  oe  a  Colony  at  Elephantine.  Translation 
of  a  Petition  Relating  to  Their  Temple.  Reply  of  Persian  Governor.  His¬ 
torical  Bearings  of  these  Documents.  A  Letter  Relating  to  the  Passover. 
A  Letter  Showing  that  the  Jews  were  Unpopular  at  Elephantine. 

Numerous  papyri  found  since  1895  at  Elephantine,  an  island  at 
the  First  Cataract  of  the  Nile,  reveal  the  existence  of  a  Jewish 
community  there.  The  documents  are  dated  from  the  year  494 
b.  c.  to  the  year  400  b.  c.  They  show  that  this  Jewish  community 
had  at  Elephantine  a  temple  to  Jehovah,  that  they  were  soldiers, 
and  that  some  of  them  were  engaged  in  trade.  One  document 
declares  that  when  Cambyses  conquered  Egypt  (525  b.  c.)  he  then 
found  the  temple  of  Jehovah  in  existence  there,  and  that  it  had  been 
built  under  native  Egyptian  kings.  How  came  such  a  community 
of  Jews  to  be  established  there?  It  is  thought  that  they  were  a 
garrison  placed  there  by  Psammetik  II,  King  of  Egypt,  593-588 
b.  c.  This  Psammetik  endeavored  to  conquer  Nubia,1  and  accord¬ 
ing  to  a  confused  statement  in  Josephus  (Contra  Apion,  I,  26,  27) 
Rhampses  (perhaps  a  corruption  of  Psammetik),  employed  some 
Jews  in  an  expedition  to  that  country.2  However,  these  Jews  came 
to  dwell  at  this  point,  and  whensoever  the  settlement  was  made,  the 
documents3  are  most  interesting,  and  open  to  us  a  hitherto  wholly 
unknown  vista  in  the  history  of  the  Jews. 

1.  Temple  Papyrus  from  Elephantine. 

Unto  our  lord,  Bagohi,  governor  of  Judah,  thy  servants  Jedoniah  and  his 
associates,  the  priests  who  are  in  Yeb,  the  fortress,  health!  May  our  Lord,  the 
God  of  heaven,  abundantly  grant  unto  thee  at  all  times,  and  for  favors  may  he 
appoint  thee  before  Darius,  the  king,  and  the  princes  of  the  palace  more  than  at 
present  a  thousand  times,  and  long  life  may  he  grant  to  thee,  and  joy  and 

Herodotus,  Book  II,  161. 

2  Josephus  professes  to  be  quoting  Manetho,  and  puts  the  incident  in  the  time  of  Ramses. 
Perhaps  Aristeas  in  his  letter  refers  to  this  colony,  when  he  speaks  of  Jewish  soldiers.  (See 
Kautzsch,  Apokryphcn  und  Pseudepigraphen,  II,  7.) 

3  The  documents  have  been  published  by  Sayce  and  Cowley,  Aramaic  Papyri  Discovered  at 
Assuan,  London,  1906,  and  Sachau,  Aramdische  Papyrus  und  Ostraka  aus  Elephantine,  Leipzig, 
1911.  Those  translated  here  are  Nos.  1,  4,  6,  and  11  of  Sachau’s  publication. 


387 


388 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


strength,  at  all  times!  Now  thy  servant,  Jedoniah,  and  his  associates  thus  speak: 
In  the  month  Tammuz,  year  14  of  Darius,  the  king,  when  Arsames  departed  and 
went  unto  the  king,  the  priests  of  the  god  Khnub,  who  were  in  Yeb,  the  fortress, 
made  an  agreement  with  Waidrang  who  was  acting  governor  here;  it  was  as 
follows:  The  temple  of  Yahu  (Jehovah),  the  God,  which  is  in  Yeb,  the  fortress 
they  would  remove  from  there.  Afterward  this  Waidrang  wickedly  sent  a  letter 
unto  Nephayan,  his  son,  who  was  commander  of  the  army  at  Syene,  the  fortress, 
saying:  “The  temple  which  is  in  Yeb,  the  fortress  they  shall  destroy.”  After¬ 
ward  Nephayan,  mustering  Egyptians  with  the  other  forces,  came  to  the  fortress 
Yeb  with  their  quivers  (?) ;  they  entered  into  this  temple,  they  destroyed  it  to  the 
ground,  and  the  pillars  of  stone  which  were  there  they  brake.  Also  it  came  to 
pass  (that)  five  gates  of  stone,  constructed  of  cut  stone,  which  were  in  this 
temple,  they  destroyed,  and  their  swinging  doors  and  the  bronze  hinges  of 
these  doors.  And  the  roof  which  was  of  cedar  wood,  all  of  it,  together  with 
the  rest  of  the  furnishings  and  the  other  things  which  were  there,  the  whole 
they  burned  with  fire.  And  the  vessels  of  gold  and  silver  and  the  things  which 
were  in  this  temple,  the  whole  was  taken,  and  they  made  it  their  own. 

Now  from  the  days  of  the  kings  of  Egypt,  our  fathers  built  this  temple  in  Yeb, 
the  fortress,  and  when  Cambyses  came  to  Egypt,  this  temple  was  found  built, 
and  the  temples  of  the  gods  of  Egypt  were  overthrown,  but  not  a  thing  in  this 
temple  was  harmed.  And  after  they  (i.  e.,  Waidrang  and  the  priests  of  Khnub) 
had  done  this,  we  and  our  wives  and  sons  were  clothed  in  sackcloth  and  were 
fasting  and  praying  to  Yahu,  God  of  heaven,  that  he  would  show  us  this  Waid¬ 
rang,  the  cur,  with  the  anklets  torn  from  his  feet,  that  all  the  goods  which  he 
possesses  might  perish,  and  all  the  men  who  desired  the  pollution  of  this  tem¬ 
ple — all  might  be  killed,  and  we  might  see  (our  desire)  upon  them.  Also  for¬ 
merly,  at  the  time  this  shameful  deed  was  done  to  us  we  sent  a  letter  to  our 
lord,  and  unto  Jehohanan,  the  high  priest,  and  his  associates,  the  priests  who  are 
in  Jerusalem,  and  unto  Ostan,  the  brother  of  Anani  and  the  elders  of  Judah,  but 
a  letter  they  have  not  sent  unto  us.  Also  from  the  month  Tammuz  of  the  14th 
year  of  Darius  the  king  even  unto  this  day  we  have  worn  sackcloth  and  fasted, 
our  wives  have  been  made  like  widows,  we  have  not  anointed  ourselves  with  oil, 
wine  we  have  not  drunk;  also  from  then  unto  the  17th  year  of  Darius  the  king  a 
meal-offering  and  incense  and  a  burnt-offering  they  have  not  offered  in  this 
temple.  Now  thy  servants  Jedoniah  and  his  associates  and  the  Jews,  all  who  are 
citizens  of  Yeb,  thus  speak:  If  unto  our  lord  it  seems  good  to  think  on  this  temple 
to  rebuild  it,  because  they  will  not  permit  us  to  rebuild  it,  look  upon  those  who 
share  thy  favor  and  kindnesses  who  are  here  in  Egypt — let  a  letter  be  sent  unto 
them  concerning  the  temple  of  Yahu  God,  to  build  it  in  Yeb,  the  fortress,  in  the 
way  it  was  built  formerly,  and  meal-offerings  and  incense  and  burnt-offerings  let 
them  offer  upon  the  altar  of  Yahu  God  in  thy  name,  and  we  will  pray  for  thee  at 
all  times,  we  and  our  wives  and  our  sons  and  the  Jews,  all  who  are  here.  If  thus 
they  do  until  this  temple  is  built,  then  merit  (righteousness)  shall  be  thine  before 
Yahu,  God  of  heaven,  more  than  (that  of)  the  man  who  offers  to  him  burnt- 
offerings  and  sacrifices  of  the  value  of  a  thousand  pieces  of  silver.  And  concern¬ 
ing  gold  for  this  we  have  sent  information.  Also  the  whole  is  told  in  a  letter  we 
sent  in  our  name  to  Dalajah  and  Shelemjah,  sons  of  Sanballat,  governor  of 
Samaria.  Also  concerning  this  which  is  done  to  us,  all  of  it  Arsames  does  not 
know. 

On  the  20th  of  Marcheswan,  year  17  of  Darius  the  king. 

To  this  letter  Bagohi  (Bagoas)  sent  the  following  reply: 

Memorandum  of  Bagohi  and  Dalajah.  They  spoke  to  me  a  memorandum  for 
them :  It  shall  be  thine  to  say  among  the  Egyptians  before  Arsames  concerning 


A  JEWISH  COLONY  IN  EGYPT 


389 


the  place  of  sacrifice  of  the  god . of  heaven,  which  was  built  in  Yeb  the 

fortress  formerly  before  Cambyses,  which  this  wicked  Waidrang  destroyed  in 
the  year  fourteen  of  Darius  the  king,  to  build  it  in  its  place  like  as  it  was  before, 
and  meal-offerings  and  incense  let  them  offer  upon  this  altar  in  the  manner  it 
formerly  was  done. 

The  first  of  these  documents  is  dated  in  the  17th  year  of  Darius 
II,  i.  e.,  the  year  407  b.  c.  It  states  that  the  temple  at  Elephantine 
(Yeb)  had  been  destroyed  by  Waidrang  and  had  lain  in  ruins  for 
three  years.  The  community  which  worshiped  in  the  temple  had 
previously  written  to  Jehohanan,  high  priest  at  Jerusalem,  probably 
to  ask  that  he  intercede  with  the  Persian  governor  Bagohi  (Bagoses), 
but  had  written  in  vain.  They  now  write  to  Bagohi  himself,  and 
also  to  the  two  sons  of  Sanballat,  governor  of  Samaria  (cf.  Neh. 
2  :  10,  19,  etc.),  with  the  result  that  the  request  is  granted,  and 
authority  is  given  to  rebuild  the  temple. 

The  fact  that  there  was  a  temple  at  Elephantine  at  all  is  new  and 
startling.  Its  significance  is  differently  interpreted  by  different 
scholars.  More  conservative  scholars  claim  that  it  is  opposed  to  the 
date  which  the  critical  school  assign  to  the  date  of  Deuteronomy, 
viz.:  621  b.  c.,  because,  if  the  law  against  more  altars  than  one  had 
been  introduced  then,  Jews  would  not  have  so  soon  violated  it  by 
building  this  shrine.  Critics,  on  the  other  hand,  hold  that  it  fits 
well  with  their  views,  since  they  believe  that  Deuteronomy  was 
accepted  by  Jews  as  a  whole  only  gradually,  and  after  considerable 
struggle. 

One  thing  is  clear:  at  the  time  the  temple  at  Elephantine  was 
overthrown,  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem  looked  upon  it  with  disfavor.1 
They  took  no  steps  to  lay  the  matter  before  the  Persian  governor. 
It  was  not  till  the  aggrieved  Egyptian  Jews  wrote  to  the  heretical 
Samaritans,  Dalajah  and  Shelemjah,  sons  of  Sanballat,-  who  would 
naturally  be  glad  to  encourage  another  rival  to  the  temple  at  Jeru¬ 
salem,  that  the  matter  was  pushed  and  permission  given  to  rebuild 
the  temple. 

This  appeal  to  Sanballat’s  family  throws  interesting  light  on  the 
progress  of  the  schism  between  the  Jews  and  the  Samaritans.2 
(Compare  Nehemiah  4:1,  ff;  6:1,  ff . ;  and  13  :  28.) 

The  existence  of  this  temple  has  an  interesting  bearing  upon  the 
date  of  Isa.  19.  Some  scholars  have  held  that  that  prophecy,  which 

1  Perhaps  this  disfavor  arose  in  part  from  the  fact  that,  as  a  papyrus  not  translated  here  shows, 
two  other  deities  were  worshiped  along  with  Jehovah. 

*  It  is  possible  that  the  Elephantine  colony  were  taken  from  northern  Israel. 


390 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


refers  to  a  temple  of  Jehovah  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  is  late  and  must 
refer  to  the  temple  built  by  Onias  III,  about  170  b.  c.  (Cf.  Jose¬ 
phus,  Antiquities,  xiii,  3:1,6.)  It  is  now  possible  to  suppose  that 
the  reference  may  well  have  been  to  this  hitherto  unsuspected  temple 
at  Elephantine. 

2.  Hananiah’s  Passover  Letter. 

To  my  brethren,  Jedoniah  and  his  associates,  the  Jewish  garrison,  your  brother 

Hananiah.  The  peace  of  my  brethren  may  God . And  now  this  year,  the 

year  5  of  Darius  the  king,  there  was  sent  from  the  king  unto  Arsames . 

Now  ye  thus  shall  count  fourteen . and  from  the  15  th  day  unto  the 

21st  day  [of  Nisan] . be  ye  clean  and  guard  yourselves.  Work  ye  shall 

not  [do] . ye  shall  not  drink,  and  all  which  is  leavened  ye  shall  n[ot  eat] 

. from  the  going  down  of  the  sun  unto  the  21st  day  of  Nisan . 

take  into  your  rooms  and  seal  between  the  days  of . 

This  letter  is  from  some  Hananiah  who  seems  to  have  stood  high 
in  authority  among  Jewish  communities.  Several  Hananiahs  are 
mentioned  in  the  post-exilic  literature.  One  of  them  was  a  military 
commander  in  Jerusalem  in  the  time  of  Nehemiah  (Neh.  7:2),  but 
as  that  was  at  least  twenty-five  years  before  the  date  of  our  letter, 
it  would  be  precarious  to  assert  that  that  Hananiah  was  the  writer 
of  this  letter,  though  it  is  possible  that  he  was. 

From  the  letter  it  is  clear  that  the  writer  is  informing  the  Jewish 
garrison  at  Elephantine  concerning  the  details  of  the  provisions  for 
the  observance  of  the  Jewish  Passover,  as  they  are  laid  down  in 
Exod.  12  and  Lev.  23.  It  seems  strange  that  these  Jews  at  Ele¬ 
phantine  who  were  faithful  enough  to  Jehovah  to  have  a  temple  in 
his  honor,  should  have  needed  to  be  informed  of  such  details,  if  they 
had  copies  of  the  Pentateuch.  Adherents  of  the  modern  school  of 
criticism  see  in  this  fact  a  confirmation  of  their  view,  that  the 
Levitical  law  had  been  introduced  into  the  Jewish  community  at 
Jerusalem  only  in  the  time  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  for,  they  urge, 
this  letter  shows  that  it  was  unknown  to  the  garrison  at  Elephan¬ 
tine  until  the  reign  of  Darius  II.  To  this,  conservative  scholars 
reply  that  it  was  customary  among  the  Jews  to  make  yearly  procla¬ 
mation  of  the  approach  of  the  festival,  and  that  this  may  be  simply 
such  a  proclamation.  They  also  urge  that  ignorance  of  the  law  on 
the  part  of  some  Jews  is  no  proof  that  it  did  not  exist. 

3.  Letter  Showing  that  the  Jews  of  Egypt  were  Unpopular. 


To  my  lords,  Jedoniah,  Uriah,  and  the  priests  of  the  God,  Jehovah,  Mattan, 
son  of  Joshibiah  and  Neriah  son  of . thy  servant  Mauziyah;  the  peace  of 


A  JEWISH  COLONY  IN  EGYPT 


391 


my  lords . and  be  favored  before  the  God  of  heaven.  And  now,  when 

Waidrang,  the  chief  of  the  garrison,  came  to  Abydos,  he  imprisoned  me  on  ac¬ 
count  of  a  certain  precious  stone  which  they  found  stolen  in  the  hands  of  the 
traders.  At  last  Seha  and  Hor,  who  were  known  to  Anani,  exerted  themselves 
with  Waidrang  and  Hornufi,  under  the  protection  of  the  God  of  heaven,  until 
they  secured  my  release.  Now  behold  they  are  coming  thither  to  you.  Do  you 
attend  to  them  whatever  they  may  desire.  And  whatever  thing  Seha  and  Hor 
may  desire  of  you,  stand  ye  before  them  so  that  no  cause  of  blame  may  they  find 
in  you.  With  you  is  the  chastisement  which  without  cause  has  rested  upon  us, 
from  the  time  Hananiah  was  in  Egypt  until  now.  And  whatever  you  do  for  Hor 
you  do  for  yourselves.  Hor  is  known  to  Anani.  Do  you  sell  cheaply  from  our 
houses  any  goods  that  are  at  hand;  whether  we  lose  or  do  not  lose,  is  one  to  you. 
This  is  why  I  am  sending  to  you:  he  said  to  me:  “Send  a  letter  before  us.”  Even 
if  we  should  lose,  credit  will  be  established  because  of  him  in  the  house  of  Anani. 
What  you  do  for  him  will  not  be  hidden  from  Anani.  To  my  lords,  Jedoniah, 
Uriah,  and  the  priests  and  the  Jews. 


This  is  a  letter  sent  by  a  member  of  the  Jewish  colony  of  Ele¬ 
phantine  to  his  Jewish  brethren  there,  highly  recommending  to 
them  two  men.  He  was  especially  anxious  to  make  a  good  impres¬ 
sion  upon  these  because  they  were  acquaintances  of  a  certain  Anani. 
This  Anani  apparently  was  a  man  of  influence  at  the  Persian  court. 
His  name  may  be  the  same  as  Hanani,  Nehemiah’s  brother  (Neh. 
7  :  2).  It  has  been  pointed  out  that  the  existence  of  two  men  of 
the  same  name  who  could  have  influence  at  the  Persian  court  would 
be  improbable.  This  letter  shows  that  since  Hananiah  came  to 
Egypt,  the  Jews  have  been  in  affliction,  and  the  writer  of  this  letter 
is  anxious  to  make  a  good  impression  upon  the  friends  of  Anani,  so 
that  this  affliction  may  be  removed. 

Scholars  of  the  critical  school  see  in  this  letter  a  confirmation  of 
their  view  that  the  Levitical  law  had  but  just  been  introduced  into 
the  Egyptian  community.  The  reference  to  the  “chastisement”  or 
“affliction”  which  had  rested  on  the  community  is  thought  by  them 
to  be,  probably,  the  friction  between  Jews  and  Egyptians  caused  by 
the  less  friendly  relations  toward  foreigners,  which  the  Levitical 
law  imposed  on  its  devotees.  It  is,  of  course,  possible  that  the 
“chastisement”  may  have  been  due  to  something  quite  different. 
It  should  be  said,  too,  that  the  papyrus  is  torn  somewhat  just  where 
the  word  rendered  chastisement  occurs,  so  that  the  word  itself  is 
not  certain. 


CHAPTER  XX 


A  BABYLONIAN  JOB 

Translation  or  a  Poem  Relating  to  the  Afflictions  of  a  Good  Man.  Comparison 
with  the  Book  of  Job.  A  Fragment  of  Another  Similar  Poem. 

1.  Babylonian  Poem  Relating  to  Affliction. 

The  following  Babylonian  poem  treats  of  a  mysterious  affliction 
which  overtook  a  righteous  man  of  Babylonia,  and  has  been  com¬ 
pared  with  the  book  of  Job.1 

1.  I  advanced  in  life,  I  attained  to  the  allotted  span; 

Wherever  I  turned  there  was  evil,  evil — 

Oppression  is  increased,  uprightness  I  see  not. 

I  cried  unto  god,  but  he  showed  not  his  face. 

5.  I  prayed  to  my  goddess,  but  she  raised  not  her  head. 

The  seer  by  his  oracle  did  not  discern  the  future; 

Nor  did  the  enchanter  with  a  libation  illuminate  my  case; 

I  consulted  the  necromancer,  but  he  opened  not  my  understanding. 

The  conjurer  with  his  charms  did  not  remove  my  ban. 

10.  How  deeds  are  reversed  in  the  world! 

I  look  behind,  oppression  encloses  me 

Like  one  who  the  sacrifice  to  god  did  not  bring, 

And  at  meal-time  did  not  invoke  the  goddess, 

Did  not  bow  down  his  face,  his  offering  was  not  seen; 

15.  (Like  one)  in  whose  mouth  prayers  and  supplications  were  locked, 

(For  whom)  god’s  day  had  ceased,  a  feast  day  become  rare, 

(One  who)  has  thrown  down  his  fire-pan,  gone  away  from  their  images, 
God’s  fear  and  veneration  has  not  taught  his  people, 

Who  invoked  not  his  god,  when  he  ate  god’s  food; 

20.  (Who)  abandoned  his  goddess,  and  brought  not  what  is  prescribed, 
(Who)  oppresses  the  weak,  forgets  his  god, 

Who  takes  in  vain  the  mighty  name  of  his  god;  he  says,  I  am  like  him. 
But  I  myself  thought  of  prayers  and  supplications; 

Prayer  was  my  wisdom,  sacrifice,  my  dignity; 

25.  The  day  of  honoring  the  gods  was  the  joy  of  my  heart, 

The  day  of  following  the  goddess  was  my  acquisition  of  wealth; 

The  prayer  of  the  king, — that  was  my  delight, 

And  his  music, — for  my  pleasure  was  its  sound. 

I  gave  directions  to  my  land  to  revere  the  names  of  god, 

30.  To  honor  the  name  of  the  goddess  I  taught  my  people. 

Reverence  for  the  king  I  greatly  exalted, 

And  respect  for  the  palace  I  taught  the  people; 

For  I  knew  that  with  god  these  things  are  in  favor. 

What  is  innocent  of  itself,  to  god  is, evil! 

1  Translated  from  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archceology,  X,  478,  f.,  and  Rawlin- 
son’s  Cuneiform  Inscriptions,  IV,  60*. 

392 


A  BABYLONIAN  JOB  393 

35.  What  in  one’s  heart  is  contemptible,  to  one’s  god  is  good! 

Who  can  understand  the  thoughts  of  the  gods  in  heaven? 

The  counsel  of  god  is  full  of  destruction;  who  can  understand? 

Where  may  human  beings  learn  the  ways  of  god? 

He  who  lives  at  evening  is  dead  in  the  morning; 

40.  Quickly  he  is  troubled;  all  at  once  he  is  oppressed; 

At  one  moment  he  sings  and  plays; 

In  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  he  howls  like  a  funeral-mourner. 

Like  sunshine  and  cloud1  their  thoughts  change; 

They  are  hungry  and  like  a  corpse; 

45.  They  are  filled  and  rival  their  god! 

In  prosperity  they  speak  of  climbing  to  Heaven; 

Trouble  overtakes  them  and  they  speak  of  going  down  to  Sheol. 

(At  this  point  the  tablet  is  broken.  We  do  not  know  how  many 
lines  are  wanting  before  the  narrative  is  resumed  on  the  back  of  the 
tablet.) 

Reverse 

Into  my  prison  my  house  is  turned. 

Into  the  bonds  of  my  flesh  are  my  hands  thrown; 

Into  the  fetters  of  myself  my  feet  have  stumbled. 


5.  With  a  whip  he  has  beaten  me;  there  is  no  protection; 

With  a  staff  he  has  transfixed  me;  the  stench  was  terrible! 

All  day  long  the  pursuer  pursues  me, 

In  the  night  watches  he  lets  me  breathe  not  a  moment; 

Through  torture  my  joints  are  torn  asunder; 

10.  My  limbs  are  destroyed,  loathing  covers  me; 

On  my  couch  I  welter  like  an  ox, 

I  am  covered,  like  a  sheep,  with  my  excrement. 

My  sickness  baffled  the  conjurers, 

And  the  seer  left  dark  my  omens. 

15.  The  diviner  has  not  improved  the  condition  of  my  sickness; 

The  duration  of  my  illness  the  seer  could  not  state; 

The  god  helped  me  not,  my  hand  he  took  not; 

The  goddess  pitied  me  not,  she  came  not  to  my  side; 

The  coffin  yawned;  they  [the  heirs]  took  my  possessions; 

20.  While  I  was  not  yet  dead,  the  death  wail  was  ready. 

My  whole  land  cried  out:  “How  is  he  destroyed!” 

My  enemy  heard;  his  face  gladdened; 

They  brought  as  good  news  the  glad  tidings,  his  heart  rejoiced. 

But  I  knew  the  time  of  all  my  family, 

25.  When  among  the  protecting  spirits  their  divinity  is  exalted. 

The  above  is  from  a  tablet  called  the  “Second”  of  the  series 
Ludlul  bel  nimeqi,  i.  e.,  “I  will  serve  the  lord  of  wisdom.”  The 
“Third”  tablet  of  the  series  has  been  published  by  R.  Campbell 
Thompson  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology , 


1  Literally,  “like  opening  and  shutting.” 


394 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


XXXII,  p.  18,  f.  It  is  considerably  broken,  but  the  parts  which  are 
legible  are  as  follows: 


Let  thy  hand  grasp  the  javelin 
Tabu-utul-Bel,  who  lives  at  Nippur, 
5.  Has  sent  me  to  consult  thee, 


Has  laid  his . upon  me. 

In  life . has  cast,  he  has  found.  [He  says]: 


“[I  lay  down]  and  a  dream  I  beheld; 

This  is  the  dream  which  I  saw  by  night: — 

10.  [He  who  made  woman]  and  created  man, 

Marduk,  has  ordained  (?)  that  he  be  encompassed  with  sickness  (?).” 


15.  And . in  whatever . 

He  said:  “How  long  will  he  be  in  such  great  affliction  and  distress? 
What  is  it  that  he  saw  in  his  vision  of  the  night?” 

“In  the  dream  Ur-Bau  ap[peared], 

A  mighty  hero  wearing  his  crown, 

20.  A  conjurer,  too,  clad  in  strength, 

Marduk  indeed  sent  me; 

Unto  Shubshi-meshri-Nergal  he  brought  abu[ndance]; 

In  his  pure  hands  he  brought  abu[ndance]. 

By  my  guardian-spirit  (?)  he  st[opped]  (?),” 

25.  [By]  the  seer  he  sent  a  message: 

“A  favorable  omen  I  show  to  my  people.” 


. he  quickly  finished;  the . was  broken 

. of  my  lord,  his  heart  [was  satisfied]; 

30 . his  spirit  was  appeased 

. my  lamentation . 

. good . 


Reverse 


. like . 

He  approached  (?)  and  the  spell  which  he  had  pronounced  (?), 

5.  He  sent  a  storm  wind  to  the  horizon; 

To  the  breast  of  the  earth  it  bore  [a  blast], 

Into  the  depth  of  his  ocean  the  disembodied  spirit  vanished  (?) ; 
Unnumbered  spirits  he  sent  back  to  the  under-world. 

The . of  the  hag-demons  he  sent  straight  to  the  mountain. 

10.  The  sea-flood  he  spread  with  ice; 

The  roots  of  the  disease  he  tore  out  like  a  plant. 

The  horrible  slumber  that  settled  on  my  rest 
Like  smoke  filled  the  sky . 

With  the  woe  he  had  brought,  unrepulsed  and  bitter,  he  filled  the  earth  like 
a  storm. 

15.  The  unrelieved  headache  which  had  overwhelmed  the  heavens 
He  took  away  and  sent  down  on  me  the  evening  dew. 

My  eyelids,  which  he  had  veiled  with  the  veil  of  night. 

He  blew  upon  with  a  rushing  wind  and  made  clear  their  sight. 

My  ears,  which  were  stopped,  were  deaf  as  a  deaf  man’s — 


A  BABYLONIAN  JOB 


395 


20.  He  removed  their  deafness  and  restored  their  hearing. 

My  nose,  whose  nostril  had  been  stopped  from  my  mother’s  womb — 
He  eased  its  deformity  so  that  I  could  breathe. 

My  lips,  which  were  closed — he  had  taken  their  strength — 

He  removed  their  trembling  and  loosed  their  bond. 

25.  My  mouth,  which  was  closed  so  that  I  could  not  be  understood — 

He  cleansed  it  like  a  dish,  he  healed  its  disease. 

My  eyes,  which  had  been  attacked  so  that  they  rolled  together — 

He  loosed  their  bond  and  their  balls  were  set  right. 

The  tongue,  which  had  stiffened  so  that  it  could  not  be  raised — 

30.  [He  relieved]  its  thickness,  so  its  words  could  be  understood. 

The  gullet  which  was  compressed,  stopped  as  with  a  plug — 

He  healed  its  contraction,  it  worked  like  a  flute. 

My  spittle  which  was  stopped  so  that  it  was  not  secreted — 

He  removed  its  fetter,  he  opened  its  lock. 


2.  Comparison  with  the  Book  of  Job. 

A  commentary  on  this  text,  which  has  been  preserved  on  a 
tablet,  informs  us  that  Tabu-utul-Bel  was  an  official  of  Nippur  in 
Babylonia.1  This  story  has  some  striking  similarities  to  the  book 
of  Job.  It  presents  also  some  striking  dissimilarities. 

Tabu-utul-Bel,  like  Job,  had  been  a  just  man.  He  had  been  also 
a  religious  man.  (See  lines  23,  ffi,  p.  392.)  The  virtues  which  he 
claims  are  similar  to  those  of  Job  (see  Job  29  and  31);  there  is, 
however,  this  difference:  Job’s  virtues  are  social;  those  of  Tabu- 
utul-Bel  consist  of  acts  of  worship  and  loyalty.  Tabu-utul-Bel  is 
smitten,  like  Job,  with  a  sore  disease.  To  him,  as  to  Job,  the 
providence  is  inexplicable.  He,  like  Job,  charges  his  god  with  in¬ 
scrutable  injustice.  The  chasm  which  often  yawns  between  ex¬ 
perience  and  moral  deserts  was  as  keenly  felt  by  the  Babylonian  as 
by  the  Hebrew. 

Here  the  parallelism  with  the  book  of  Job  ends.  The  two  works 
belong  to  widely  different  religious  worlds.  Job  gains  relief  by 
a  vision  of  God — an  experience  which  made  him  able  to  believe 
that,  though  he  could  not  understand  the  reason  for  the  pain  of  life 
or  its  contradictions  and  tragedy,  God  could,  and  Job  now  knew 
God.  (See  Job  42  : 4-6.)  Tabu-utul-Bel,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
said  to  have  gained  his  relief  through  a  magician.  We  are  appar¬ 
ently  told  by  the  fragmentary  text  that  at  last  he  found  a  conjurer 
who  brought  a  messenger  from  the  god  Marduk,  who  drove  away 

1  Perhaps  one  of  the  antediluvian  Babylonian  kings.  (See  Part  II,  Chapter  IV.)  The  Sume¬ 
rian  form  of  his  name  was  Laluralim  and  in  Rawlinson’s  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia, 
Vol.  V,  p.  44,  17b,  is  glossed  as  Zugagib  or  “scorpion.”  Zugagib  is.one-of  the  early  kings  of  Baby¬ 
lonia,  who  is  said  to  have  ruled  840  years- 


396 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


the  evil  spirits  which  caused  the  disease,  and  so  Tabu-utul-Bel  was 
relieved.  This  difference  sets  vividly  before  us  the  greater  religious 
value  and  inspiration  of  the  book  of  Job.  It  treats  the  same  prob¬ 
lem  that  the  Babylonian  poet  took  for  his  theme,  but  between  the 
outlook  of  the  poet  who  composed  Job  and  that  of  the  Babylonian 
poet  there  is  all  the  difference  between  a  real  experience  of  God  and 
faith  in  the  black  art. 

3.  Another  Similar  Lament. 

Another  fragment  of  a  lament  of  a  somewhat  similar  character, 
written  in  the  Sumerian  language,  comes  to  us  on  a  tablet  from  Nip¬ 
pur,  the  very  city  with  which  Tabu-utul-Bel  is  said  to  have  been 
connected.  It  reads  as  follows:1 


1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 
9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 


Column  I 


. he  carried  away, 

. he  destroyed, 

. spoke  to . 

. was  destroyed, 

. completely  from  on  high  was  destroyed. 

I,  even  I,  am  a  man  of  destruction. 

With  might  from  below  he  destroyed, 

I,  even  I,  am  a  man  of  destruction. 

Nippur  (?) — its  temple  verily  is  destroyed, 

My  city  verily  is  destroyed. 

O  Enlil,  from  the  height  descend, 

May  Ububul  destroy  them! 


Column  II 

1 . 

2 . . 

3 . my  food  (?)  is  not, 

4.  The  ground  grain  is  removed,  with  the  hand  he  seized  it; 

5.  My  eyes  fail. 

6.  The  shrine  of  the  mother  which  the  silver-smith  cast, 

7.  To  earth  he  has  ground, 

8.  Its  contents  on  the  earth  verily  he  flung — 

9.  I  am  a  man  of  destruction! — 

10.  Its  contents  on  the  earth  verily  he  destroyed; 

11.  I  am  a  man  of  destruction! 

12.  The  man  from  above  is  wise; 

13.  On  earth  he  dwells. 

14.  The  man  who  went  before, 

15.  Hides  in  the  rear. 

16.  Namtar  my  maiden  (he  snatched  away); 

17.  Who  shall  bring  the  maiden  back? 

1  Translated  from  S.  Langdon’s  Historical  and  Religious  Texts  from  the  Temple  Library  of  Nippur. 
Munich,  1914,  No.  16. 


A  BABYLONIAN  JOB 


397 


Column  III 

1.  Nam  tar  verily  is  smitten,  yea  verily, 

2.  Who  shall  bring  back  strength? 

3.  The  smiter  has  smitten, 

4.  Who  shall  strike  him  down? 

5.  The  hero  bearing  the  dagger 

6.  He  has  cast  down, 

7.  Who  shall  drag  him  off? 

8.  At  the  gate  of  my  palace  no  protector  stands, 

9.  A  man  of  desolation  am  I! 

10.  The  land  is  completely  overthrown,  I  have  no  defender, 

11.  A  man  of  desolation  am  I! 

12.  The  flood  fills  not  the  marsh  land; 

13.  My  eye  thereon  I  lift  not. 

14.  To  man’s  plantations  water  reaches  not, 

15.  My  hand  stretches  not  out  to  it. 

16.  To  the  marsh  land  which  the  flood  filled 

17.  Truly  the  foot  walks  upon  it! 

From  this  point  on  the  tablet  is  too  broken  for  connected  trans¬ 
lation.  Dr.  Langdon  calls  this  the  lament  of  a  Sumerian  Job,  but 
his  woes,  in  so  far  as  this  fragment  recounts  them,  are  due  to  the 
conquest  of  his  land  by  an  enemy,  and  to  famine  due  to  a  failure  of 
the  rivers  to  overflow.  The  parallelism  to  Tabu-utul-Bel  and  to 
Job  might  be  closer,  if  we  had  the  whole  tablet.  As  this  tablet  is 
in  the  script  of  the  first  dynasty  of  Babylon,  it  is  evident  that  this 
kind  of  lamentation  was  as  early  as  2000  b.  c. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


PSALMS  FROM  BABYLONIA  AND  EGYPT 

Character  of  Their  Psalms.  Babylonian  Prayers  to  the  Goddess  Ishtar. 
Comparison  with  the  Psalter.  A  Babylonian  Hymn  to  the  Moon-God.  A 
Babylonian  Hymn  to  Bel.  An  Egyptian  Hymn  to  the  Sun-God.  Is  the  Hymn 
Monotheistic?  An  Egyptian  Hymn  in  Praise  of  Aton.  Comparison  with  the 
Psalter. 

% 

Both  from  Babylonia  and  from  Egypt  a  large  number  of  hymns 
and  prayers  have  been  recovered.  Some  of  these  are  beautiful  on 
account  of  their  form  of  expression,  the  poetical  nature  of  their 
thoughts,  and  the  sense  of  sin  which  they  reveal.  Most  of  them  are 
clearly  polytheistic,  and  it  is  rare  that  they  rise  in  the  expression  of 
religious  emotion  to  the  simple  sublimity  of  the  Old  Testament 
Psalms.  Such  likenesses  to  the  Psalms  as  they  possess  only  serve 
to  set  off  in  greater  relief  the  rich  religious  heritage  which  we  have 
in  our  Psalter. 

A  few  examples  only  of  the  many  known  hymns  are  here  given. 

1.  A  Babylonian  Prayer  to  the  Goddess  Ishtar.1 

O  fulfiller  of  the  commands  of  Bel . 


Mother  of  the  gods,  fulfiller  of  the  commands  of  Bel, 

Thou  bringer-forth  of  verdure,  thou  lady  of  mankind, — 

5.  Begetress  of  all,  who  makest  all  offspring  thrive, 

Mother  Ishtar,  whose  might  no  god  approaches, 

Majestic  lady,  whose  commands  are  powerful, 

A  request  I  will  proffer,  which — may  it  bring  good  to  me! 

O  lady,  from  my  childhood  I  have  been  exceedingly  hemmed  in  by 
trouble! 

10.  Food  I  did  not  eat,  I  was  bathed  in  tears! 

Water  I  did  not  quaff,  tears  were  my  drink! 

My  heart  is  not  glad,  my  soul  is  not  cheerful; 

. I  do  not  walk  like  a  man. 


Reverse 

. painfully  I  wail! 

My  sighs  are  many,  my  sickness  is  great! 

O  my  lady,  teach  me  what  to  do,  appoint  me  a  resting-place! 

My  sin  forgive,  lift  up  my  countenance! 

1  Translated  from  Haupt’s  Akkadiscke  und  sumerische  Keilschrifttexle,  116,  ff.,  with  comparison 
of  Zimmern’s  Babylonische  Busspsalmen,  33,  f. 

398 


PSALMS  FROM  BABYLONIA  AND  EGYPT  399 


5.  My  god,  who  is  lord  of  prayer, — may  he  present  my  prayer  to  thee! 

My  goddess,  who  is  mistress  of  supplication, — may  she  present  my 
prayer  to  thee! 

God  of  the  deluge,  lord  of  Harsaga, — may  he  present  my  prayer  to  thee, — 
The  god  of  pity,  the  lord  of  the  fields, — may  he  present  my  prayer  to  thee! 
God  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  lord  of  Eridu, — may  he  present  my  prayer 
to  thee! 

10.  The  mother  of  the  great  water,  the  dwelling  of  Damkina, — may  she 
present  my  prayer  to  thee! 

Marduk,  lord  of  Babylon, — may  he  present  my  prayer  to  thee! 

His  spouse,  the  exalted  offspring  (?)  of  heaven  and  earth, — may  she  pre¬ 
sent  my  prayer  to  thee! 

The  exalted  servant,  the  god  who  announces  the  good  name, — may  he 
present  my  prayer  to  thee! 

15.  The  bride,  the  firstborn  of  Ninib, — may  she  present  my  prayer  to  thee! 
The  lady  who  checks  hostile  speech, — may  she  present  my  prayer  to  thee! 
The  great,  exalted  one,  my  lady  Nana, — may  she  present  my  prayer  to 
thee! 

2.  A  Babylonian  Prayer  to  Ishtar.1 

. He  raises  to  thee  a  wail; 

. He  raises  to  thee  a  wail; 

[On  account  of  his  face  which]  for  tears  is  not  raised,  he  raises  to  thee  a, 
wail; 

On  account  of  his  feet  on  which  fetters  are  laid,  he  raises  to  thee  a  wail; 
5.  On  account  of  his  hand,  which  is  powerless  through  oppression,  he  raises 
to  thee  a  wail; 

On  account  of  his  breast,  which  wheezes  like  a  bellows,  he  raises  to  thee  a 
wail; 

O  lady,  in  sadness  of  heart  I  raise  to  thee  my  piteous  cry,  “How  long?” 

O  lady,  to  thy  servant — speak  pardon  to  him,  let  thy  heart  be  appeased! 
To  thy  servant  who  suffers  pain — favor  grant  him! 

10.  Turn  thy  gaze  upon  him,  receive  his  entreaty! 

To  thy  servant  with  whom  thou  art  angry — be  favorable  unto  him! 

O  lady,  my  hands  are  bound,  I  turn  to  thee! 

For  the  sake  of  the  exalted  warrior,  Shamash,  thy  beloved  husband,  take 
away  my  bonds! 

15.  Through  a  long  life  let  me  walk  before  thee! 

My  god  brings  before  thee  a  lamentation;  let  thy  heart  be  appeased! 
My  goddess  utters  to  thee  a  prayer,  let  thy  anger  be  quieted! 

The  exalted  warrior,  Anu,  thy  beloved  spouse, — may  he  present  my  prayer 
to  thee! 

[Shamash],  god  of  justice, — may  he  present  my  prayer  to  thee! 

20 . the  exalted  servant, — may  he  present  my  prayer  to  thee! 

. the  mighty  one  of  Ebarbar, — may  he  present  my  tears  to  thee! 

[“Thine  eye  turn  truly]  to  me,”  may  he  say  to  thee! 

[“Thy  face  turn  truly  to]  me,”  may  he  say  to  thee! 

[“Let  thy  heart  be  at  rest”],  may  he  say  to  thee! 

25.  [“Let  thy  anger  be  pacified”],  may  he  say  to  thee! 

[Thy  heart  like  the  heart  of  a  mother  who  has  brought  forth],  may  if 
rejoice! 

[Like  a  father  who  has  begotten  a  child],  may  it  be  glad! 

1  Translated  from  Haupt’s  Akkadische  und  Sumcrische  KeilsckriJttexU,  p.  122,  f. 


400 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


3.  Comparison  of  These  Prayers  with  the  Psalter. 

The  writers  of  these  lamentations,  like  the  Hebrew  Psalmist 
(see  Psa.  17  :  1 ;  18  :  6),  cried  unto  a  deity  for  help.  They  were  both 
in  great  distress,  and  naturally  inferred  that  their  deity  was  angry, 
as  do  Psalms  85  :  5;  90  :  7.  There  is,  however,  no  great  conscious¬ 
ness  of  sin  in  these  Babylonian  complaints.  They  simply  express 
distress.  Unlike  the  Biblical  Psalms  these  are  polytheistic  and  their 
authors  call  upon  other  deities  to  intercede  for  them  with  the  god¬ 
dess,  to  whom  the  prayer  is  addressed  and  whom,  for  the  time  being, 
they  regard  as  supreme.  The  author  of  this  last  penitential  psalm 
asks  “How  long?”  as  does  Psa.  6:3;  74  :  10;  90  :  13.  The  idea 
seems  to  be  that  the  suffering  of  the  penitent  will  either  atone  for 
sin  or  touch  the  heart  of  the  deity  so  that  the  suffering  shall  be 
abated. 

4.  A  Babylonian  Hymn  to  Sin,  the  Moon-god.1 

O  brilliant  barque  of  the  heavens,  ruler  in  thy  own  right, 

Father  Nannar,  lord  of  Ur, 

Father  Nannar,  lord  of  Ekishshirgal, 

Father  Nannar,  lord  of  the  brilliant  rising, 

5.  O  lord,  Nannar,  firstborn  son  of  Bel, 

Thou  standest,  thou  standest 

Before  thy  father  Bel.  Thou  art  ruler, 

Father  Nannar;  thou  art  ruler,  thou  art  guide. 

O  barque,  when  standing  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  thou  art  ruler. 

10.  Father  Nannar,  thou  thyself  ridest  to  the  brilliant  temple. 

Father  Nannar,  when,  like  a  ship,  thou  goest  in  the  midst  of  the  deep, 
Thou  goest,  thou  goest,  thou  goest, 

Thou  goest,  thou  shinest  anew,  thou  goest, 

Thou  shinest  anew,  thou  livest  again,  thou  goest. 

15.  Father  Nannar,  the  herd  thou  restorest. 

When  thy  father  looketh  on  thee  with  joy,  he  commandeth  thy  waxing, 
Then  with  the  glory  of  a  king  brilliantly  thou  risest. 

Bel  a  scepter  for  distant  days  for  thy  hands  has  completed. 

In  Ur  as  the  brilliant  barque  thou  ridest, 

20.  As  the  lord,  Nudimmud,  thou  art  established; 

In  Ur  as  the  brilliant  boat  thou  ridest. 


Reverse 


The  river  of  Bel  (?)  [Nannar]  fills  with  water. 

The  brilliant  (?)  river  [Nannar]  fills  with  water. 

The  river  Tigris  [Nannar]  fills  with  water. 

5.  The  brilliance  of  the  Euphrates  [Nannar]  fills  with  water. 

The  canal  with  its  gate  Lukhe,  [Nannar]  fills  with  water. 

The  great  marsh  and  the  little  marsh  Nannar  fills  with  water. 

1  Translated  from  Cuneiform  Texts  from  Babylonian  Tablets,  b°c.,  in  the  British  Museum,  Part 
XV,  pp.  16,  17. 


PSALMS  FROM  BABYLONIA  AND  EGYPT  401 


The  preceding  hymn  is  made  up  of  a  description  of  the  movements 
and  changes  of  the  moon,  together  with  the  expression  of  a  super¬ 
stition,  which  is  still  widely  prevalent,  that  the  moon’s  changes 
control  the  rainfall.  It  is  a  fair  example  of  a  Babylonian  nature- 
psalm.  It  lacks  the  inspired  and  inspiring  power  of  such  Hebrew 
nature-psalms  as  Psalms  8,  19,  146,  147,  and  148. 

5.  A  Babylonian  Hymn  to  Bel.1 

O  lord  of  wisdom . ruler  in  thy  own  right, 

O  Bel,  lord  of  wisdom . ruler  in  thy  own  right, 

O  father  Bel,  lord  of  the  lands, 

O  father  Bel,  lord  of  truthful  speech, 

5.  O  father  Bel,  shepherd  of  the  black-headed  ones,2 
O  father  Bel,  who  thyself  openest  the  eyes, 

O  father  Bel,  the  warrior,  prince  among  soldiers, 

O  father  Bel,  supreme  power  of  the  land, 

Bull  of  the  corral,  warrior  who  leadest  captive  all  the  land. 

10.  O  Bel,  proprietor  of  the  broad  land, 

Lord  of  creation,  thou  art  chief  of  the  land, 

The  lord  whose  shining  oil  is  food  for  an  extensive  offspring, 

The  lord  whose  edicts  bind  together  the  city, 

The  edict  of  whose  dwelling  place  strikes  down  the  great  prince 
15.  From  the  land  of  the  rising  to  the  land  of  the  setting  sun. 

O  mountain,  lord  of  life,  thou  art  indeed  lord! 

O  Bel  of  the  lands,  lord  of  life,  thou  thyself  art  lord  of  life. 

O  mighty  one,  terrible  one  of  heaven,  thou  art  guardian  indeed! 

O  Bel,  thou  art  lord  of  the  gods  indeed! 

20.  Thou  art  father,  Bel,  who  causest  the  plants  of  the  gardens  to  grow! 

O  Bel,  thy  great  glory  may  they  fear! 

The  birds  of  heaven  and  the  fish  of  the  deep  are  filled  with  fear  [of  thee]. 
O  father  Bel,  in  great  strength  thou  goest,  prince  of  life,  shepherd  of  the 
stars! 

O  lord,  the  secret  of  production  thou  openest,  the  feast  of  fatness  estab- 
lishest,  to  work  thou  callest! 

25.  Father  Bel,  faithful  prince,  mighty  prince,  thou  createst  the  strength  of 
life! 


A  line  at  the  end  states  that  the  hymn  consisted  of  25  lines. 

It  is  a  hymn  to  Bel  of  Nippur,  whose  Sumerian  name  was  Enlil. 
It  reveals  an  exalted  conception  of  Bel  as  supreme  ruler,  as  a  god 
w#*o  gives  life,  as  a  god  of  justice  whose  rule  holds  society  together, 
but  it  lacks  both  the  poetical  sublimity  and  the  religious  depth  and 
fire  of  the  Hebrew  psalms. 

1  Translated  from  Cuneiform  Texts  from  Babylonian  Tablets,  6*c.  in  the  British  Museum, 
XV,  10. 

2  An  epithet  of  the  inhabitants  of  Babylonia. 


402 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


6.  An  Egyptian  Hymn  to  the  Sun-god  (about  1400  B.  C.).1 

Hail  to  thee,  beautiful  god  of  every  day! 

Rising  in  the  morning  without  ceasing, 

[Not]  wearied  in  labor. 

When  thy  rays  are  visible, 

5.  Gold  is  not  considered, 

It  is  not  like  thy  brilliance. 

Thou  art  a  craftsman  shaping  thy  own  limbs; 

Fashioner  without  being  fashioned; 

Unique  in  his  qualities,  traversing  eternity; 

10.  Over  ways  with  millions  under  his  guidance. 

Thy  brilliance  is  like  the  brilliance  of  the  sky, 

Thy  colors  gleam  more  than  the  hues  of  it. 

When  thou  sailest  across  the  sky  all  men  behold  thee, 

(Though)  thy  going  is  hidden  from  their  sight. 

15.  When  thou  showest  thyself  at  morning  every  day, 

. under  thy  majesty,  though  the  day  be  brief, 

Thou  traversest  a  journey  of  leagues, 

Even  millions  and  hundred-thousands  of  time. 

Every  day  is  under  thee. 

20.  When  thy  setting  comes, 

The  hours  of  the  night  hearken  to  thee  likewise. 

When  thou  hast  traversed  it 
There  comes  no  ending  to  thy  labors. 

All  men — they  see  by  means  of  thee. 

25.  Nor  do  they  finish  when  thy  majesty  sets, 

For  thou  wakest  to  rise  in  the  morning, 

And  thy  radiance,  it  opens  the  eyes  (again). 

When  thou  settest  in  Manu,2 
Then  they  sleep  like  the  dead. 

30.  Hail  to  thee!  O  disc  of  day, 

Creator  of  all  and  giver  of  their  sustenance, 

Great  Falcon,  brilliantly  plumaged, 

Brought  forth  to  raise  himself  on  high  of  himself, 

Self-generator,  without  being  born. 

35.  Firstborn  Falcon  in  the  midst  of  the  sky, 

To  whom  jubilation  is  made  at  the  rising  and  the  setting  likewise. 
Fashioner  of  the  produce  of  the  soil, 


Taking  possession  of  the  Two  Lands  (Egypt),  from  great  to  small — 

40.  A  mother  profitable  to  gods  and  men, 

A  craftsman  of  experience, . 

Valiant  herdsman  who  drives  cattle, 

Their  refuge  and  the  giver  of  their  sustenance, 

Who  passes  by,  running  the  course  of  the  sun-god, 

45.  Who  determines  his  own  birth, 

Exalting  his  beauty  in  the  body  of  Nut, 

Illuminating  the  Two  Lands  (Egypt)  with  his  disc, 

The  primordial  being,  who  himself  made  himself; 

Who  beholds  that  which  he  has  made, 

1  Taken  from  Breasted’s  Religion  and  Thought  in  Ancient  Egypt,  p.  315,  f. 

2  A  fabulous  mountain  beyond  the  western  horizon,  over  which  the  sun  was  believed  to  pass  at 
evening. 


PSALMS  FROM  BABYLONIA  AND  EGYPT 


403 


50.  Sole  lord  taking  captive  all  lands  every  day, 

As  one  beholding  them  that  walk  therein; 

Shining  in  the  sky  a  being  as  the  sun. 

He  makes  the  seasons  by  the  months, 

Heat  when  he  desires, 

55.  Cold  when  he  desires. 

He  makes  the  limbs  to  languish 
When  he  enfolds  them, 

Every  land  is  in  rejoicing 

At  his  rising  every  day,  in  order  to  praise  him. 

This  hymn  is,  so  far  as  its  expressions  go,  monotheistic.  One 
would  not  dream  from  it  that  there  was  any  god  but  the  sun-god. 
Nevertheless,  other  gods  were  worshiped.  The  monotheism  here 
expressed  was  not  of  the  intolerant  kind  which  prevailed  in  Israel, 
and  which  ultimately  put  down  the  worship  of  all  rival  deities. 

Such  an  intolerant  monotheism  was  introduced  into  Egypt  by 
Amenophis  IV  (see  Part  I,  p.  29),  who  took  an  old  name  for  the 
sun  disc,  Aton,  as  the  name  of  the  one  god,  and  who  tried  to  sup¬ 
press  the  worship  of  all  other  gods.  The  movement  failed,  but 
while  it  lasted  it  produced  the  following  beautiful  hymn. 

7.  An  Egyptian  Hymn  in  Praise  of  Aton.1 

Thy  dawning  is  beautiful  in  the  horizon  of  the  sky, 

O  loving  Aton,  Beginning  of  life! 

When  thou  risest  in  the  eastern  horizon, 

Thou  fillest  every  land  with  thy  beauty. 

5.  Thou  art  beautiful,  great,  glittering,  high  above  every  land, 

Thy  rays,  they  encompass  the  lands,  even  all  that  thou  hast  made, 
Thou  art  Re,2  and  thou  carriest  them  all  away  captive; 

Thou  bindest  them  by  thy  love. 

Though  thou  art  far  away,  thy  rays  are  upon  the  earth; 

10.  Though  thou  art  on  high,  thy  footprints  are  the  day. 

When  thou  settest  in  the  western  horizon  of  the  sky, 

The  earth  is  in  darkness  like  the  dead; 

They  sleep  in  their  chambers, 

Their  heads  are  wrapped  up, 

15.  Their  nostrils  are  stopped, 

And  none  seeth  the  other, 

While  all  their  things  are  stolen 
Which  are  under  their  heads, 

And  they  know  it  not. 

20.  Every  lion  cometh  forth  from  his  den, 

All  serpents,  they  sting. 

Darkness . 

The  world  is  in  silence; 

He  that  made  them  resteth  in  his  horizon. 

1  Taken  from  Breasted’s  Development  of  Religion  and  Thought  in  Ancient  Egypt,  p.  324,  f. 

2  There  is  a  pun  on  the  word  Re;  it  is  the  same  as  “all.”  Such  puns  are  frequent  in  the  Hebrew 
of  the  Old  Testament  prophets. 


404 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


25.  Bright  is  the  earth  when  thou  risest  in  the  horizon. 

When  thou  shinest  as  Aton  by  day 
Thou  drivest  away  the  darkness. 

When  thou  sendest  forth  thy  rays, 

The  Two  Lands  (Egypt)  are  in  daily  festivity, 

30.  Awake  and  standing  upon  their  feet 
When  thou  hast  raised  them  up. 

Their  limbs  bathed,  they  take  their  clothing, 

Their  arms  uplifted  in  adoration  to  thy  dawning. 

(Then)  in  all  the  world  they  do  their  work. 

35.  All  cattle  rest  upon  their  pasturage, 

The  trees  and  the  plants  flourish, 

The  birds  flutter  in  their  marshes, 

Their  wings  uplifted  in  adoration  to  thee. 

All  the  sheep  dance  upon  their  feet, 

40.  All  winged  things  fly, 

They  live  when  thou  hast  shone  upon  them. 

The  barques  sail  upstream  and  downstream  alike. 

Every  highway  is  open  because  thou  dawnest. 

45.  The  fish  in  the  river  leap  up  before  thee. 

The  rays  are  in  the  midst  of  the  great  green  sea. 

Creator  of  the  germ  in  woman, 

Maker  of  seed  in  man, 

Giving  life  to  the  son  in  the  body  of  his  mother, 

50.  Soothing  him  that  he  may  not  weep, 

Nurse  (even)  in  the  womb, 

Giver  of  breath  to  animate  every  one  that  he  maketh! 

When  he  cometh  forth  from  the  body . on  the  day  of  his  birth, 

Thou  openest  his  mouth  in  speech, 

55.  Thou  suppliest  his  necessities. 

When  the  fledgling  in  the  egg  chirps  in  the  shell, 

Thou  givest  him  breath  therein  to  preserve  him  alive. 

When  thou  hast  brought  him  together, 

To  (the  point  of)  bursting  it  in  the  egg, 

60.  He  cometh  forth  from  the  egg 
To  chirp  with  all  his  might. 

He  goeth  about  on  his  two  feet 
When  he  hath  come  forth  therefrom. 

How  manifold  are  thy  works!1 
65.  They  are  hidden  from  before  (us), 

O  sole  God,  whose  powers  no  other  possesseth. 

Thou  didst  create  the  earth  according  to  thy  heart 
While  thou  wast  alone: 

Men,  all  cattle  large  and  small, 

70.  All  that  are  upon  the  earth, 

That  go  about  upon  their  feet; 

[All]  that  are  on  high, 

That  fly  with  their  wings. 

The  foreign  countries,  Syria  and  Kush, 

1  Compare  Psa.  104  :  24. 


PSALMS  FROM  BABYLONIA  AND  EGYPT  405 


75.  The  land  of  Egypt; 

Thou  settest  every  man  into  his  place, 

Thou  suppliest  their  necessities. 

Every  one  has  his  possessions, 

And  his  days  are  reckoned. 

80.  The  tongues  are  divers  in  speech, 

Their  forms  likewise  and  their  skins  are  distinguished. 

(For)  thou  makest  different  the  strangers. 

Thou  makest  the  Nile  in  the  Nether  World, 

Thou  bringest  it  as  thou  desirest, 

85.  To  preserve  alive  the  people. 

For  thou  hast  made  them  for  thyself, 

The  lord  of  them  all,  resting  among  them; 

Thou  lord  of  every  land,  who  risest  for  them, 

Thou  Sun  of  day,  great  in  majesty. 

90.  All  the  distant  countries, 

Thou  makest  (also)  their  life, 

Thou  hast  set  a  Nile  in  the  sky; 

When  it  falleth  for  them, 

95.  It  maketh  waves  upon  the  mountains, 

Like  the  great  green  sea, 

Watering  their  fields  in  their  towns. 

How  excellent  are  thy  designs,  O  lord  of  eternity! 

There  is  a  Nile  in  the  sky  for  the  strangers 
100.  And  for  the  cattle  of  every  country  that  go  upon  their  feet. 
(But)  the  Nile,  it  cometh  from  the  Nether  World  for  Egypt. 

Thy  rays  nourish  every  garden; 

When  thou  risest  they  live, 

They  grow  by  thee. 

105.  Thou  makest  the  seasons 

In  order  to  create  all  thy  work: 

Winter  to  bring  them  coolness, 

And  heat  that  they  may  taste  thee. 

Thou  didst  make  the  distant  sky  to  rise  therein, 

110.  In  order  to  behold  all  that  thou  hast  made, 

Thou  alone,  shining  in  thy  form  as  living  Aton, 

Dawning,  glittering,  going  afar  and  returning. 

Thou  makest  millions  of  forms 
Through  thyself  alone; 

115.  Cities,  towns,  and  tribes,  highways  and  rivers. 

All  eyes  see  before  them, 

For  thou  art  Aton  of  the  day  over  the  earth. 


Thou  art  in  my  heart, 

120.  There  is  no  other  that  knoweth  thee 
Save  thy  son  Ikhnaton.1 
Thou  hast  made  him  wise 
In  thy  designs  and  in  thy  might. 

The  world  is  in  thy  hand, 

1  Ikhnaton  is.  the  name  adopted  by  Amenophis  IV  in  connection  with  his  reform.  It  means 
“Aton’s  man.”  His  old  name  meant  “Amon  is  gracious”  and  had  heathen  associations.  On  the 
sentiment  of  lines  120,  121,  compare  Matt.  11  :  27. 


406 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


125.  Even  as  thou  hast  made  them. 

When  thou  hast  risen  they  live, 

When  thou  settest  they  die; 

For  thou  art  length  of  life  of  thyself, 
Men  live  through  thee, 

130.  While  (their)  eyes  are  upon  thy  beauty 
Until  thou  settest. 

All  labor  is  put  away 
When  thou  settest  in  the  west. 


135.  Thou  didst  establish  the  world, 

And  raise  them  up  for  thy  son, 

Who  came  forth  from  thy  limbs, 

The  king  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt, 

Living  in  Truth,  Lord  of  the  Two  Lands, 

140.  Nefer-khepru-Re,  Wan-Re  (Ikhnaton), 

Son  of  Re,  living  in  Truth,  lord  of  diadems, 

Ikhnaton,  whose  life  is  long; 

And  for  the  chief  royal  wife,  his  beloved, 

Mistress  of  the  Two  Lands,  Nefer-nefru-Aton,  Nofretete, 

145.  Living  and  flourishing  for  ever  and  ever. 

8.  Comparison  with  the  Psalter. 

This  long  hymn  contains  many  beautiful  passages,  and,  in  addi¬ 
tion  to  the  line  “How  manifold  are  thy  works!”  often  reminds  one  of 
Psa.  104,  though  in  religious  feeling  it  falls  well  below  that  psalm. 
Ikhnaton  speaks  of  himself  toward  the  end  of  his  hymn  as  the  one 
“whose  life  is  long,”  but  the  poor  fellow  died  before  he  was  thirty 
years  old.1  His  mummy  was  found  a  few  years  ago,  and  it  is  that 
of  a  young  man.  Vain  were  his  hopes,  unless  his  words  refer  to 
the  immortal  life. 

These  Egyptian  hymns,  like  the  Babylonian,  exhibit  a  high 
degree  of  poetic  and  intellectual  power,  and  much  deep  religious 
feeling,  but  the  men  who  wrote  them  somehow  lacked  that  deep 
religious  insight  and  simple  power  of  emotional  expression  that  were 
given  to  the  Hebrews.  Their  compositions  but  set  in  clearer  relief 
the  beauty,  depth,  and  inspirational  power  of  the  Hebrew  Psalms. 

1  See  Weigall,  The  Treasury  of  Ancient  Egypt,  London,  1911,  p.  206. 


CHAPTER  XXII 


PARALLELS  TO  PROVERBS  AND  ECCLESIASTES 

The  Nature  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  and  the  Parallels.  Babylonian  Prov¬ 
erbs  from  the  Library  of  Ashurbanipal.  Precepts  from  the  Library  of  Ashur- 
banipal.  Comparison  with  the  Bible.  Egyptian  Precepts  of  Ptahhotep. 
Comparison  with  the  Bible.  Parallel  to  Ecclesiastes  from  the  Gilgamesh  Epic. 

Both  Egypt  and  Babylon  furnish  parallels  to  the  book  of  Prov¬ 
erbs.  The  Biblical  book  of  Proverbs  contains  a  long  connected 
discourse  of  advice  (Prov.  1-9)  and  various  collections  of  discon¬ 
nected  proverbs  (Prov.  10-29).  Parallels  to  both  are  found  in 
Egypt  and  in  Babylonia.  The  library  of  Ashurbanipal  contained 
a  collection  of  proverbs  in  two  languages,  arranged  as  reading 
lessons  for  students.  A  few  examples  are  here  given. 

I.  Some  Babylonian  Proverbs  from  the  Library  of  Ashurbanipal.1 

1.  A  hostile  act  thou  shalt  not  perform,  that  fear  of  vengeance  (?)  shall  not 
consume  thee. 

2.  Thou  shalt  not  do  evil,  that  life  (?)  eternal  thou  mayest  obtain. 

3.  Does  a  woman  conceive  when  a  virgin,  or  grow  great  without  eating? 

4.  If  I  put  anything  down  it  is  snatched  away;  if  I  do  more  than  is  expected, 
who  will  repay  me? 

5.  He  has  dug  a  well  where  no  water  is;  he  has  raised  a  husk  without  kernel. 

6.  Does  a  marsh  receive  the  price  of  its  reeds,  or  fields  the  price  of  their 
vegetation? 

7.  The  strong  live  by  their  own  wages;  the  weak  by  the  wages  of  their 
children. 

8.  He  is  altogether  good,  but  he  is  clothed  with  darkness. 

9.  The  face  of  a  toiling  ox  thou  shalt  not  strike  with  a  goad. 

10.  My  knees  go,  my  feet  are  unwearied;  but  a  fool  has  cut  into  my  course. 

II.  His  ass  I  am;  I  am  harnessed  to  a  mule;  a  wagon  I  draw;  to  seek  reeds  and 
fodder  I  go  forth. 

12.  The  life  of  day  before  yesterday  has  departed  today. 

13.  If  the  husk  is  not  right,  the  kernel  is  not  right;  it  will  not  produce  seed. 

14.  The  tall  grain  thrives,  but  what  do  we  understand  of  it?  The  meager 
grain  thrives,  but  what  do  we  understand  of  it? 

15.  The  city  whose  weapons  are  not  strong — the  enemy  before  its  gates  shall 
not  be  thrust  through. 

1  The  first  twenty  are  culled  from  a  tablet  in  the  British  Museum,  published  by  Langdon  in  the 
American  Journal  of  Semitic  Languages,  Vol.  XXVIII,  217-243,  under  the  title  “Babylonian  Prov¬ 
erbs.”  For  convenience  those  quoted  are  numbered  consecutively  without  reference  to  the  parts 
omitted. 


407 


408  ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 

16.  If  thou  goest  and  takest  the  field  of  an  enemy,  the  enemy  will  come  and 
take  thy  field. 

17.  Upon  a  glad  heart  oil  is  poured  out  of  which  no  one  knows. 

18.  Friendship  is  for  the  day  of  trouble;  posterity  for  the  future. 

19.  An  ass  in  another  city  becomes  its  head. 

The  idea  is  similar  to  Matt.  13  :  57:  “ A  prophet  is  not  without 
honor,  save  in  his  own  country,  and  in  his  own  house.” 

20.  Writing  is  the  mother  of  eloquence  and  the  father  of  artists. 

21.  Be  gentle  to  thy  enemy  as  to  an  old  oven.1 

22.  The  gift  of  the  king  is  the  nobility  of  the  exalted;  the  gift  of  the  king  is 
the  favor  of  governors. 

23.  Friendship  in  days  of  prosperity  is  servitude  forever. 

24.  There  is  strife  where  servants  are;  slander  where  anointers  anoint. 

25.  When  thou  seest  the  gain  of  the  fear  of  god,  exalt  god  and  bless  the  king.2 

2.  Precepts  from  the  Library  of  Ashurbanipal.3 

Thou  shalt  not  slander,  (but)  speak  kindly; 

Thou  shalt  not  speak  evil,  (but)  show  mercy. 

Him  who  slanders  (and)  speaks  evil, 

With  its  recompense  will  Shamash4  visit  (?)  his  head. 

Thou  shalt  not  make  large  thy  mouth,  but  guard  thy  lip; 

In  the  time  of  anger  thou  shalt  not  speak  at  once. 

If  thou  speakest  quickly,  thou  wilt  repent  (?)  afterward, 

And  in  silence  wilt  thou  sadden  thy  mind. 

Daily  present  to  thy  god 

Offering  and  prayer,  appropriate  to  incense. 

Before  thy  god  mayest  thou  have  a  pure  heart, 

For  that  is  appropriate  to  deity. 

Prayer,  petition,  and  prostration 

Early  in  the  morning  shalt  thou  render  him;  he  will  judge  thy  burdens  (?), 
And  with  the  help  of  God  thou  wilt  be  abundantly  prosperous. 

In  thy  wisdom  learn  of  the  tablet; 

The  fear  (of  God)  begets  favor, 

Offering  enriches  life, 

And  prayer  brings  forgiveness  of  sins. 

(The  text  of  the  rest  is  too  broken  for  connected  translation.) 

3.  Comparison  with  the  Bible. 

None  of  the  sentiments  expressed  in  these  proverbs  is  identical 
with  any  in  the  Bible.  No.  21  is  on  the  same  subject  as  Prov.  24 :  17; 
No.  22  reminds  one  slightly  of  the  first  clause  of  Prov.  14:35;  No.  23 

1  Translated  from  Delitzsch’s  Assyrische  LesestUcke ,  4th  ed.,  p.  118,  f. 

1  Translated  from  Meissner’s  Beitrdge  zum  Altbabylonischen  Primtrecht,  p.  108. 

*  Taken  from  Macmillan’s  translation,  Beitrdge  zur  Assyriologie,  V,  557,  ff. 

*  The  sun-god,  the  god  of  justice. 


i 


PARALLELS  TO  PROVERBS  AND  ECCLESIASTES  409 


has  the  same  sentiment  as  Prov.  18  :  24:  “He  that  maketh  many 
friends  doeth  it  to  his  own  destruction”;  while  No.  6  is  somewhat 
similar  to  Prov.  24  :  21. 

Among  the  “precepts,”  that  on  guarding  the  lips  recalls  to  one’s 
mind  Prov.  10  :  19;  13  :  3;  14  :  3;  17  :  28.  Reference  is  made  to  the 
“gain  of  the  fear  of  God”  and  it  is  declared  to  “beget  favor.”  Job 
28  :  28  declares  “the  fear  of  the  Lord,  that  is  wisdom.” 

4.  The  Precepts  of  Ptahhotep. 

These  precepts  are  attributed  to  a  man  who  lived  in  the  time 
of  the  fifth  Egyptian  dynasty,  about  2650  b.  c.,  and  are  at  least  as 
.old  as  2000  b.  c.  The  text  is  very  difficult.  The  examples  given 
below  are  taken  from  Breasted’s1  condensation  of  the  moral  precepts 
which  the  treatise  contains. 

1.  If  thou  findest  a  wise  man  in  his  time,  a  leader  of  understanding  more 
excellent  than  thou,  bend  thy  arms  and  bow  thy  back. 

2.  If  thou  findest  a  wise  man  in  his  time,  thy  equal, . be  not  silent 

when  he  speaks  evil.  Great  is  the  approval  by  those  who  hear,  and  thy  name  will 
be  good  in  the  knowledge  of  the  princes. 

3.  If  thou  findest  a  wise  man  in  his  time,  a  poor  man  and  not  thy  equal,  be 
not  overbearing  against  him  when  he  is  unfortunate. 

4.  If  thou  art  a  leader  (or  administrator)  issuing  ordinances  for  the  multitude, 
seek  for  thee  very  excellent  matter,  that  thy  ordinance  may  endure  without  evil 

therein.  Great  is  righteousness  (truth,  right,  justice),  enduring . ;  it 

has  not  been  disturbed  since  the  time  of  Osiris. 

5.  Put  no  fear  (of  thee?)  among  the  people . What  the  god  com¬ 

mands  is  that  which  happens.  Therefore  live  in  the  midst  of  quiet.  What 
they  (the  gods?)  give  comes  of  itself. 

6.  If  thou  art  a  man  of  those  who  sit  by  the  seat  of  a  man  greater  than  thou, 

take  what  (food)  he  gives, . look  at  what  is  before  thee,  and  bombard  him 

not  with  many  glances  (don’t  stare  at  him) . Speak  not  to  him  until  he 

calls.  One  knows  not  what  is  unpleasant  to  (his)  heart.  Speak  thou  when  he 
greets  thee,  and  what  thou  sayest  will  be  agreeable  to  (his)  heart. 

7.  If  thou  art  a  man  of  those  who  enter,  whom '(one)  prince  sends  to  (an¬ 
other)  prince, . execute  for  him  the  commission  according  as  he  saith. 

Beware  of  altering  a  word  which  (one)  prince  speaks  to  (another)  prince,  by 
displaying  the  truth  with  the  like  of  it. 

8.  If  thou  plowest  and  there  is  growth  in  the  field,  the  god  gives  it  (as) 
increase  in  thy  hand.  Satisfy  not  thy  own  mouth  beside  thy  kin. 

9.  If  thou  art  insignificant,  follow  an  able  man  and  all  thy  proceedings  shall 
be  good  before  the  god. 

1 0.  Follow  thy  desire  as  long  as  thou  livest.  Do  not  more  than  is  told  (thee). 
Shorten  not  the  time  of  following  desire.  It  is  an  abomination  to  encroach  upon 
the  time  thereof.  Take  no  care  daily  beyond  the  maintenance  of  thy  house. 
When  possessions  come,  follow  desire,  (for)  possessions  are  not  complete  when  he 
(the  owner)  is  harassed. 

[Compare  with  this  precept  Eccles.  11:9  and  7  :  15-17.] 

1  Development  of  Religion  and  Thought  in  Ancient  Egypt,  p.  231,  f.  Breasted’s  references  to  the 
sections  of  the  original  text  are  here  omitted. 


410 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


11.  If  thou  art  an  able  man,  (give  attention  to  the  conduct  of  thy  son). 


16.  If  thou  art  a  leader  (or  administrator),  hear  quietly  the  speech  of  the 
petitioner.  He  who  is  suffering  wrong  desires  that  his  heart  be  cheered  to  do 

that  on  account  of  which  he  hath  come . It  is  an  ornament  of  the  heart  to 

hear  kindly. 

17.  If  thou  desirest  to  establish  friendship  in  a  house,  into  which  thou  enter- 
est  as  lord,  as  brother,  or  as  friend,  wheresoever  thou  enterest  in,  beware  of 

approaching  the  women . A  thousand  men  are  undone  for  the  enjoyment  of 

a  brief  moment  like  a  dream.  Men  gain  (only)  death  for  knowing  them. 

[Compare  Prov.  5  :  3,  f.] 

18.  If  thou  desirest  that  thy  procedure  be  good,  withhold  thee  from  all  evil, 

beware  of  occasion  of  avarice . He  who  enters  therein  does  not  get  on.  It 

corrupts  fathers,  mothers,  and  mothers’  brothers.  It  divides  wife  and  man; 
it  is  plunder  (made  up)  of  everything  evil;  it  is  a  bundle  of  everything  base. 
Established  is  the  man  whose  standard  is  righteousness,  who  walks  in  its  way*. 
He  is  used  to  make  his  fortune  thereby,  (but)  the  avaricious  is  houseless. 

19.  Be  not  avaricious  in  dividing . Be  not  avaricious  towards  thy  kin. 

Greater  is  the  fame  of  the  gentle  than  (that  of)  the  harsh. 

20.  If  thou  art  successful,  establish  thy  house.  Love  thy  wife  in  husbandly 
embrace,  fill  her  body,  clothe  her  back.  The  recipe  for  her  limbs  is  ointment. 
Gladden  her  heart  as  long  as  thou  livest.  She  is  a  profitable  field  for  her  lord. 

[Compare  Eccles.  9  : 9.] 

21.  Satisfy  those  who  enter  to  thee  (come  into  thy  office)  with  that  which 
thou  hast. 

22.  Repeat  not  a  word  of  hearsay. 

23.  If  thou  art  an  able  man  who  sits  in  the  council  of  his  lord,  summon  thy 
understanding  to  excellent  things.  Be  silent. 

24.  If  thou  art  a  strong  man,  establish  the  respect  of  thee  by  wisdom  and  by 
quietness  of  speech. 

25.  Approach  not  a  prince  in  his  time.  [Apparently  an  idiom  for  some  par¬ 
ticular  mood.] 

26.  Instruct  a  prince  (or  official)  in  that  which  is  profitable  for  him. 

27.  If  thou  art  the  son  of  a  man  of  the  council,  commissioned  to  content  the 

multitude, . be  not  partial.  Beware  lest  he  (the  man  of  the  multitude?) 

say,  “His  plan  is  that  of  the  princes.  He  utters  the  words  in  partiality.” 

29.  If  thou  becomest  great  after  thou  wert  little,  and  gettest  possessions  after 

thou  wert  formerly  poor  in  the  city, . be  not  proud-hearted  because  of  thy 

wealth.  It  has  come  to  thee  as  a  gift  of  the  god. 

30.  Bend  thy  back  to  thy  superior,  thy  overseer  of  the  king’s  house,  and  thy 
house  shall  endure  because  of  his  (or  its)  possessions  and  thy  reward  shall  be  in 
the  place  thereof.  It  is  evil  to  show  disobedience  to  a  superior.  One  lives  as 
long  as  he  is  gentle. 

31.  Do  not  practise  corruption  of  children. 

32.  If  thou  searchest  the  character  of  a  friend, . transact  the  matter  with 

him  when  he  is  alone. 

33.  Let  thy  face  be  bright  as  long  as  thou  livest.  As  for  what  goes  out  of  the 
storehouse,  it  comes  not  in  again;  and  as  for  loaves  (already)  distributed,  he  who 
is  concerned  therefor  has  still  an  empty  stomach.  [“There  is  no  use  in  crying 
over  spilt  milk.”] 

34.  Know  thy  merchants  when  thy  fortunes  are  evil. 


37.  If  thou  hearkenest  to  these  things  which  I  have  said  to  thee,  all  thy  plans 
will  progress.  As  for  the  matter  of  the  righteousness  thereof,  it  is  their  worth. 


PARALLELS  TO  PROVERBS  AND  ECCLESIASTES  411 


The  memory  thereof  shall  circulate  in  the  mouths  of  men,  because  of  the  beauty 
of  their  utterances.  Every  word  will  be  carried  on  and  not  perish  in  this  land 

forever . He  who  understands  discretion  is  profitable  in  establishing  that 

through  which  he  succeeds  on  earth.  A  wise  man  is  satisfied  by  reason  of  that 
which  he  knows.  As  for  a  prince  of  good  qualities,  they  are  in  his  heart  and 
tongue.  His  lips  are  right  when  he  speaks,  his  eyes  see,  and  his  ears  together 
hear  what  is  profitable  for  his  son.  Do  right  (righteousness,  justice,  truth),  free 
from  lying. 

38.  Profitable  is  hearkening  for  a  son  that  hearkens . How  good  is  it 

when  a  son  receives  that  which  his  father  says.  He  shall  reach  advanced  age 
thereby.  A  hearkener  is  one  whom  the  god  loves.  Who  hearkens  not  is  one 
whom  the  god  hates.  It  is  the  heart  (=  understanding)  which  makes  its  pos¬ 
sessor  a  hearkener  or  one  not  hearkening.  The  life,  health,  and  prosperity  of  a 
man  is  his  heart.  The  hearkener  is  one  who  hears  and  speaks.  He  who  does 
what  is  said  is  one  who  loves  to  hearken.  How  good  it  is  when  a  son  hearkens 
to  his  father!  How  happy  is  he  to  whom  these  things  are  said! . His  mem¬ 

ory  is  in  the  mouth  of  the  living  who  are  on  the  earth  and  those  who  shall  be. 

39.  If  the  son  of  a  man  receives  what  his  father  says,  none  of  his  plans  will 
miscarry.  Instruct  as  thy  son  one  who  hearkens,  who  shall  be  successful  in  the 
judgment  of  the  princes,  who  directs  his  mouth  according  to  that  which  is  said 

to  him . How  many  mishaps  befall  him  who  hearkens  not!  The  wise  man 

rises  early  to  establish  himself,  while  the  fool  is  scourged. 

[With  the  first  of  this  section  compare  Exod.  20  :  12;  Deut.  5  :  16.  With 
the  end  of  it,  Prov.  6  :  9-11;  10  :  26;  13  :  4.] 

40.  As  for  the  fool  who  hearkens  not,  he  accomplishes  nothing.  He  regards 

wisdom  as  ignorance,  and  what  is  profitable  as  diseased . His  life  is  death 

thereby, . he  dies,  living  every  day.  Men  pass  by  (avoid?)  his  qualities, 

because  of  the  multitude  of  evils  upon  him  every  day. 

41.  A  son  who  hearkens  is  a  follower  of  Horus.  He  prospers  after  he  hearkens. 
He  reaches  old  age,  he  attains  reverence.  He  speaks  likewise  to  his  (own) 
children,  renewing  the  instruction  of  his  father.  Every  man  who  instructs  is 
like  his  sire.  He  speaks  with  his  children;  then  they  speak  to  their  children. 

Attain  character, . make  righteousness  to  flourish  and  thy  children  shall 

live. 

42 . Let  thy  attention  be  steadfast  as  long  as  thou  speakest, 

whither  thou  directest  thy  speech.  May  the  princes  who  shall  hear  say,  “How 
good  is  that  which  comes  out  of  his  mouth!” 

43.  So  do  that  thy  lord  shall  say  to  thee,  “How  good  is  the  instruction  of  his 
father  from  whose  limbs  he  came  forth!  He  has  spoken  to  him;  it  is  in  (his) 
body  throughout.  Greater  is  that  which  he  hath  done  than  that  which  was  said 
to  him.”  Behold,  a  good  son,  whom  the  god  gives,  renders  more  than  his  lord 
says  to  him.  He  does  right  (righteousness,  etc.),  his  heart  acts  according  to  his 
way.  According  as  thou  attainest  me  (“what  I  have  attained”),  thy  limbs  shall 
be  healthy,  the  king  shall  be  satisfied  with  all  that  occurs,  and  thou  shalt  attain 
years  of  life  not  less  than  I  have  passed  on  the  earth.  I  have  attained  one 
hundred  and  ten  years  of  life  [compare  Gen.  50  :  26],  while  the  king  gave  to  me 
praise  above  (that  of)  the  ancestors  (in  the  vizierial  office)  because  I  did  right¬ 
eousness  for  the  king  even  unto  the  place  of  reverence  (the  grave). 

5.  Comparison  with  the  Bible. 

These  precepts,  which  were  written  before  1800  b.  c.,  like  most 
of  those  in  the  book  of  Proverbs,  embody  much  worldly  wisdom. 
They  are  based  on  experience,  and  while,  like  Proverbs,  they 


412 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


sometimes  urge  a  religious  motive  as  a  reason  for  right  conduct, 
they  frankly  advocate  it,  as  Proverbs  often  does,  on  the  ground 
of  expediency.  The  points  where  the  text  is  closely  parallel  to  that 
of  Proverbs  are  few,  and  these  have  been  sufficiently  pointed 
out.  Some  of  the  passages,  as  already  noted,  are  closely  parallel 
to  parts  of  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes.  The  religious  appeal  of  the 
precepts  is  to  Egyptian  polytheism,  while  that  of  Proverbs  is  to 
Hebrew  monotheism. 

6.  A  Parallel  to  Ecclesiastes. 

The  following  striking  parallel  to  a  passage  in  Ecclesiastes  is 
taken  from  a  tablet  of  the  Gilgamesh  Epic,1  written  in  the  script  of 
the  time  of  Hammurapi,  about  2000  b.  c. 

Since  the  gods  created  man,2 
Death  they  ordained  for  man, 

Life  in  their  hands  they  hold. 

Thou,  O  Gilgamesh,  fill  indeed  thy  belly, 

Day  and  night  be  thou  joyful, 

Daily  ordain  gladness, 

Day  and  night  rage  and  make  merry, 

Let  thy  garments  be  bright, 

Thy  head  purify,  wash  with  water, 

Desire  thy  children  which  thy  hand  possesses, 

A  wife  enjoy  in  thy  bosom, 

Peaceably  thy  work  (?) . 

This  is  not  only  in  sentiment  strikingly  like  Eccles.  9  :  6-9,  but 
in  part  closely  approaches  its  language. 

1  The  Gilgamesh  Epic  is  an  early  Babylonian  poem  in  twelve  tablets  or  cantos.  It  is  a 
collection  of  early  legends  and  myths.  The  Babylonian  account  of  the  flood,  translated  in 
Chapter  VI  (Part  II),  forms  the  eleventh  canto  of  it. 

J  Translated  from  the  Mitteilungen  der  vorderasiatischen  Gesellschaft,  1902,  Heft  1,  p.  8, 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


EGYPTIAN  PARALLELS  TO  THE  SONG  OF  ' SONGS 

Nature  of  the  Song  of  Songs.  Translation  of  Some  Egyptian  Love-Poems. 

Comparison  with  Biblical  Passages. 

For  many  centuries  the  Song  of  Songs  has  been  interpreted  al¬ 
legorically,  but  even  those  who  give  it  an  allegorical  meaning  must 
admit  that  its  sentiments  are  couched  in  the  terms  of  earthly  love. 
Love  poems,  which  sometimes  express  sentiments  that  remind  us 
of  the  Song  of  Songs,  have  been  discovered  on  some  Egyptian  papyri 
and  ostraca.  The  documents  in  which  they  are  written  range  in 
their  dates  from  2000  b.  c.  to  about  1100  b.  c.  Selections  from 
these  follow:1 

I2 

Thy  love  has  penetrated  all  within  me 
Like  [honey?]  plunged  into  water, 

Like  an  odor  which  penetrates  spices, 

As  when  one  mixes  juice  in . 

[Nevertheless],  thou  runnest  to  seek  thy  sister, 

Like  the  steed  upon  the  battlefield, 

As  [the  warrior  rolls  along]  on  the  spokes  of  his  wheels. 

For  heaven  makes  thy  love 

Like  the  advance  of  [flames  in  straw], 

And  its  [longing]  like  the  downward  swoop  of  a  hawk. 

II3 

Disturbed  is  the  condition  (?)  of  [my]  pool. 

[The  mouth]  of  my  sister  is  a  rosebud. 

Her  breast  is  a  perfume. 

Her  arm  [is  a . bough?] 

[Which  offers]  a  delusive  seat. 

Her  forehead  is  a  snare  of  meryu- wood. 

I  am  a  wild  goose,  a  hunted  one  (?), 

My  gaze  is  at  thy  hair, 

At  a  bait  under  the  trap 
That  is  to  catch  (?)  me. 

. .  J  These  are  translated  from  the  German  rendering  in  W.  Max  Muller’s  Liebpoesie  der  alten 
Agypter,  Leipzig,  1899. 

1  From  Muller,  p.  15.  *  Ibid.,  p.  16. 


413 


414 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


“Brother”  and  “sister”  are  terms  frequently  applied  to  lovers 
in  these  poems.  Perhaps  it  arose  from  an  ancient  custom  of  mar¬ 
riages  between  brothers  and  sisters,  which  was  perpetuated  in  the 
royal  families  of  Egypt  down  to  Roman  times. 

The  description  of  the  physical  attractions  of  the  loved  one 
reminds  one  of  Cant.  4  :  1-7. 

HI1 

Is  my  heart  not  softened  by  thy  love-longing  for  me? 

My  dogfoot- (fruit)  which  excites  thy  passion, — 

Not  will  I  allow  it 
To  depart  from  me. 

Although  cudgeled  even  to  the  “Guard  of  the  overflow,”1 
To  Syria,  with  shebod- rods  and  clubs, 

To  Ethiopia,  with  palm-rods, 

To  the  highlands,  with  switches, 

To  the  lowlands,  with  twigs, 

Never  will  I  listen  to  their  counsel, 

To  abandon  longing. 

IV3 

The  voice  of  the  wild  goose  cries, 

(Where)  she  has  seized  their  bait, 

(But)  thy  love  holds  me  back, 

I  am  unable  to  liberate  her. 

I  must,  then,  take  home  my  net! 

What  shall  I  say  to  my  mother, 

To  whom  formerly  I  came  each  day 
Loaded  down  with  fowls? 

I  shall  not  set  the  snares  today 
For  thy  love  has  caught  me. 

This  is  a  vivid  description  of  the  power  of  the  tender  passion. 

v4 

The  wild  goose  flies  up  and  soars, 

She  sinks  down  upon  the  net. 

The  birds  cry  in  flocks, 

But  I  hasten  [homeward], 

Since  I  care  for  thy  love  alone. 

My  heart  yearns  for  thy  breast, 

I  cannot  sunder  myself  from  thy  attractions. 

From  Muller,  ibid.,  p.  17. 

*  Perhaps  the  name  of  a  Nileometer  station  in  the  vicinity  of  Memphis. 

*  Muller,  ibid.,  p.  22. 

4  Muller,  ibid.,  p.  22. 


EGYPTIAN  PARALLELS  TO  SONG  OF  SONGS  415 


This  is  a  continuation  of  the  preceding. 

VI1 

Thou  beautiful  one!  My  heart’s  desire  is 
To  procure  for  thee  thy  food  as  thy  husband, 

My  arm  resting  upon  thy  arm.2 

Thou  hast  changed  me  by  thy  love. 

Thus  say  I  in  my  heart, 

In  my  soul,  at  my  prayers: 

“I  lack  my  commander  tonight, 

I  am  as  one  dwelling  in  a  tomb.” 

Be  thou  but  in  health  and  strength,3 
Then  the  nearness  of  thy  countenance 
Sheds  delight,  by  reason  of  thy  well-being, 

Over  a  heart,  which  seeks  thee  (with  longing). 

This  poem  expresses  on  the  part  of  the  man  a  longing  similar  to 
that  expressed  by  the  woman  in  Cant.  8  :  1-3. 

VII4 

The  voice  of  the  dove  calls, 

It  says:  “The  earth  is  bright.” 

What  have  I  to  do  outside? 

Stop,  thou  birdling!  Thou  chidest  me! 

I  have  found  my  brother  in  his  bed, 

My  heart  is  glad  beyond  all  measure. 

We  each  say: 

“I  will  not  tear  myself  away.” 

My  hand  is  in  his  hand. 

I  wander  together  with  him 
To  every  beautiful  place. 

He  makes  me  the  first  of  maidens, 

Nor  does  he  grieve  my  heart. 

In  this  poem  the  loved  woman  speaks,  as  in  Cant.  8  : 1-3. 

VIII5 

•SVaw-plants  are  in  it, 

In  the  presence  of  which  one  feels  oneself  uplifted! 

I  am  thy  darling  sister, 

I  am  to  thee  like  a  bit  of  land, 

With  each  shrub  of  grateful  fragrance. 

1  Muller,  ibid.,  p.  23. 

1  Married  couples  are  usually  so  represented  in  Egyptian  pictures. 

1  The  Egyptian  is  here  followed,  rather  than  the  German. 

*  Muller,  p.  24. 

bIbid.,  p.  27.  It  describes  a  walk  in  a  garden. 


416 


ARCHEOLOGY  .AND  THE  BIBLE 


Lovely  is  the  water-conduit  in  it, 

Which  thy  hand  has  dug, 

While  the  north  wind  cooled  us. 

A  beautiful  place  to  wander, 

Thy  hand  in  my  hand, 

My  soul  inspired, 

My  heart  in  bliss, 

Because  we  go  together. 

I 

New  wine  it  is,  to  hear  thy  voice; 

I  live  for  hearing  it. 

To  see  thee  with  each  look, 

Is  better  than  eating  and  drinking. 

The  figure  of  the  garden,  with  which  this  poem  begins,  is  also 
used  in  Cant.  5  :  1  and  6:2 ,3. 


IX1 

Ta-’a-ti-jAants  are  in  it! 

I  take  thy  garlands  away, 

When  thou  comest  home  drunken, 
And  when  thou  art  lying  in  thy  bed 
When  I  touch  thy  feet, 

(And)  children  are  (?)  in  thy . . 


[I  rise  up]  rejoicing  in  the  morning 

Thy  nearness  [means  to  me]  health  and  strength. 

In  ancient  as  in  modern  times  waves  loved  fondly,  while  husbands 
gave  way  to  drunkenness. 

The  poems  as  a  whole  make  it  clear  that  in  Egypt  love,  which 
lies  at  the  basis  of  all  home  life,  and  is  in  the  New  Testament  made  a 
figure  of  the  relation  of  Christ  to  the  Church  (see  John  3  :  29;  Rev. 
21 :  2,  9),  was  as  warmly  felt  as  in  Israel,  and  was  likewise  poetically 
and  passionately  expressed. 


1  The  garden  again. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  PASSAGES  IN  THE  PROPHETS 

Uniqueness  of  the  Prophetic  Books.  An  Assyrian  Prophetic  Vision.  Com¬ 
parison  with  the  Bible.  The  Egyptian  Social  Conscience.  Tale  of  the  Elo¬ 
quent  Peasant.  Comparison  with  the  Bible.  An  Ideal  King;  Extract  from 
the  Admonitions  of  Ipuwer.  Comparison  with  Messianic  Expectations.  Sheol. 
Ishtar’s  Descent  to  the  Under-world.  Comparison  with  Prophetic  Passages. 
A  Lamentation  for  Tammuz. 

There  is  no  other  body  of  literature  which  closely  corresponds 
to  the  books  of  the  Hebrew  prophets.  The  depth  of  their  social 
passion  and  the  power  of  their  moral  and  religious  insight  form  a 
unique  combination.  Nevertheless,  texts  which  have  come  from 
Babylonia  and  Egypt  do  show  that  certain  phases  of  prophetic 
thought  were  not  without  parallels  elsewhere.  At  times  they  also 
illustrate  for  us  thoughts  and  practices  which  the  prophets  abhorred. 
A  few  such  texts  are  here  translated. 

1.  A  Prophetic  Vision. 

The  following  statement  is  taken  from  the  annals  of  Ashurbanipal, 
King  of  Assyria,  668-626  B.  c.  It  is  the  conclusion  of  a  passage 
in  which  the  king  is  relating  his  strenuous  struggle  with  Tiuman, 
King  of  Elam.  Ashurbanipal  tells  how  he  poured  out  a  libation  to 
Ishtar  of  Arbela  and  offered  to  her  a  long  prayer  against  the  Elamite 
king.  The  narrative  then  continues:1 

In  an  hour  of  that  night  when  I  prayed  to  her,  a  seer  lay  down;  he  saw  a 
prophetic  dream.  Ishtar  caused  him  to  see  a  vision  of  the  night,  and  he  an¬ 
nounced  it  to  me,  saying:  “Ishtar  who  dwells  at  Arbela  entered,  and  on  her  right 
and  left  she  was  behung  with  quivers,  she  was  holding  a  bow  in  her  left  hand,  she 
brandished  a  heavy  sword  to  make  war.  Thou  wast  sitting  before  her.  She, 
like  the  mother  who  bore  thee,  was  speaking  to  thee  and  talking  to  thee.  Ishtar, 
the  exalted  one  of  the  gods,  was  appointing  thee  a  message:  ‘Thou  shalt  expect 
to  accomplish  that2  at  the  place  which  is  situated  before  thee.  I  am  coming.’ 
Thou  wast  answering  her,  saying:  ‘Where  thou  goest  I  will  go  with  thee,  O  lady 

of  ladies.’  She  repeated  to  thee,  saying:  ‘Thou . indeed  dwellest  in  the 

place  of  Nebo.  Eat  food,  drink  wine,  appoint  rejoicing,  exalt  my  divinity 

until  I  go  and  accomplish  this  undertaking . I  will  cause  thee  to  accomplish 

the  wish  of  thy  heart.  Thy  face  he  shall  not  harm,  thy  feet  he  shall  not  resist; 


1  Translated  from  Rawlinson’s  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  III,  32,  16,  f. 

2 1.  e.,  the  thing  thou  hast  prayed  for. 


417 


418 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


thy  cry  shall  not  come  to  nought.’  In  the  midst  of  battle  she  arms  thee  with 
the  desolation  of  her  goodness.  She  will  protect  thy  whole  body.  Before  her  a 
fire  is  blown  to  capture  thy  foes.” 

The  night  vision  of  this  seer  reminds  one  a  little  of  Isaiah’s 
vision  of  Jehovah  in  the  temple  (Isa.  6)  and  of  Zechariah’s  vision 
of  Joshua  and  Satan  (Zech.  3:1).  The  Hebrew  prophets  as  late 
as  the  time  of  Jeremiah  often  received  their  divine  messages  in 
dreams.  (See  Jer.  23  :  27.)  Assyria  had  something  of  the  same 
ideas  as  Israel  as  to  the  revelations  of  deity  to  a  prophet,  but  she 
lacked  Israel’s  ethical  deity. 

2.  The  Egyptian  Social  Conscience. 

A  remarkable  appreciation  of  the  rights  of  the  common  people 
is  revealed  in  an  Egyptian  story  called  the  “Tale  of  the  Eloquent 
Peasant,” — a  story  which  has  come  down  to  us  in  copies  made  be¬ 
fore  1800  b.  c.  It  has  been  claimed  that  this  tale  indicates  the 
existence  of  a  social  conscience  in  Egypt  analogous  to  that  of  the 
Hebrew  prophets.  The  principal  part  of  the  story  is,  accordingly, 
given  here. 

The  Eloquent  Peasant1 

There  was  a  man,  Hunanup  by  name,  a  peasant  of  Sechet-hemat,  and  he  had 

a  wife, . by  name.  Then  said  this  peasant  to  his  wife:  “Behold,  I  am 

going  down  to  Egypt  to  bring  back  bread  for  my  children.  Go  in  and  measure 

the  corn  that  we  still  have  in  our  storehouse, . bushel.”  Then  he 

measured  for  her  8  (?)  bushels  of  corn.  Then  this  peasant  said  to  his  wife: 
“Behold,  2  bushels  of  com  shall  be  left  for  bread  for  thee  and  the  children. 
But  make  for  me  the  6  bushels  into  bread  and  beer  for  each  of  the  days  [that 
I  shall  be  on  the  road].”  Then  this  peasant  went  down  to  Egypt  after  he  had 
loaded  his  asses  with  all  the  good  products2  of  Sechet-hemat. 

This  peasant  set  out  and  journeyed  southward  to  Ehnas.  He  came  to  a  point 
opposite  Per-fefi,  north  of  Medenit,  and  found  there  a  man  standing  on  the  bank, 
Dehuti-necht  by  name,  who  was  the  son  of  a  man  named  Iseri,  who  was  one  of 
the  serfs  of  the  chief  steward,  Meruitensi. 

Then  said  this  Dehuti-necht,  when  he  saw  the  asses  of  this  peasant  which 
appealed  to  his  covetousness:  “Oh  that  some  good  god  would  help  me  to  rob 
this  peasant  of  his  goods!” 

The  house  of  Dehuti-necht  stood  close  to  the  side  of  the  path,  which  was 

narrow,  not  wide.  It  was  about  the  width  of  a . -cloth,  and  upon  one  side 

of  it  was  the  water  and  upon  the  other  side  was  growing  grain.  Then  said 
Dehitu-necht  to  his  servant:  “Hasten  and  bring  me  a  shawl  from  the  house!” 
And  it  was  brought  at  once.  Then  he  spread  this  shawl  upon  the  middle  of  the 
road,  and  it  extended,  one  edge  to  the  water,  and  the  other  to  the  com. 

The  peasant  came  along  the  path  which  was  the  common  highway.  Then 
said  Dehuti-necht:  “Look  out,  peasant,  do  not  trample  on  my  clothes!”  The 
peasant  answered:  “I  will  do  as  thou  wishest;  I  will  go  in  the  right  way!”  As  he 

1  Translated  from  the  German  of  Vogelsang  und  Gardiner,  Klagen  des  Bauern,  Leipzig,  1908. 

2  The  original  contains  a  list  of  plants,  stones,  birds,  etc.,  the  modern  equivalents  of  which  are 
not  known. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  PASSAGES  IN  THE  PROPHETS  419 


was  turning  to  the  upper  side,  Dehuti-necht  said:  “Does  my  corn  serve  you  as  a 
road?”  Then  said  the  peasant:  “I  am  going  in  the  right  way.  The  bank  is 
steep  and  the  path  lies  near  the  corn  and  you  have  stopped  up  the  road  ahead 
with  your  clothes.  Will  you,  then,  not  let  me  go  by?” 

Upon  that  one  of  the  asses  took  a  mouthful  of  corn.  Then  said  Dehuti-necht : 
“See,  I  will  take  away  thy  ass  because  it  has  eaten  my  corn . ” 

Then  the  peasant  said:  “I  am  going  in  the  right  way.  As  one  side  was  made 
impassable  I  have  led  my  ass  along  the  other,  and  will  you  seize  it  because  it  has 
taken  a  mouthful  of  corn?  But  I  know  the  lord  of  this  property;  it  belongs  to 
the  chief  steward,  Meruitensi.  It  is  he  who  punishes  every  robber  in  this  whole 
land.  Shall  I,  then,  be  robbed  in  his  domain?” 

Then  said  Dehuti-necht:  “Is  it  not  a  proverb  which  the  people  employ:  The 
name  of  the  poor  is  only  known  on  account  of  his  lord?’  It  is  I  who  speak  to  you, 
but  the  chief  steward  of  whom  you  think.”1  Then  he  took  a  rod  from  a  green 
tamarisk  and  beat  all  his  limbs  with  it,  and  seized  his  asses  and  drove  them  into 
his  compound. 

Thereupon  the  peasant  wept  loudly  on  account  of  the  pain  of  what  had  been 
done  to  him.  Dehuti-necht  said  to  him:  “Don’t  cry  so  loud,  peasant,  or  thou 
shalt  go  to  the  city  of  the  Silence-maker”  (a  name  of  the  god  of  the  underworld). 
The  peasant  said:  “Thou  beatest  me  and  stealest  my  goods,  and  wilt  thou  also 
take  the  wail  away  from  my  mouth?  O  Silence-maker!  give  me  my  goods 
again!  May  I  never  cease  to  cry  out,  if  thou  fearest!” 

The  peasant  consumed  four  days,  during  which  he  besought  Dehuti-necht,  but 
he  did  not  grant  him  his  rights.  Then  this  peasant  went  to  the  south,  to  Ehnas, 
to  implore  the  chief  steward,  Meruitensi.  He  met  him  as  he  was  coming  out  of 
the  canal-door  of  his  compound  to  embark  in  his  boat.  Thereupon  the  peasant 
said:  “Oh  let  me  lay  before  thee  this  affair.  Permit  one  of  thy  trusted  servants 
to  come  to  me,  that  I  may  send  him  to  thee  concerning  it.”  Then  the  steward, 
Meruitensi,  sent  one  of  his  servants  to  him,  and  he  sent  back  by  him  an  account 
of  the  whole  affair.  Then  the  chief  steward,  Meruitensi,  laid  the  case  of  Dehuti- 
necht  before  his  attendant  officials,  and  they  said  to  him:  “Lord,  it  is  presumably 
a  case  of  one  of  your  peasants  who  has  gone  against  another  peasant  near  him. 
Behold,  it  is  customary  with  peasants  to  so  conduct  themselves  toward  others 
who  are  near  them.  Shall  we  beat  Dehuti-necht  for  a  little  natron  and  a  little 
salt?  Command  him  to  restore  it  and  he  will  restore  it.” 

The  chief  steward,  Meruitensi,  remained  silent;  he  answered  neither  the 
officials  nor  the  peasant.  The  peasant  then  came  to  entreat  the  chief  steward, 
Meruitensi,  for  the  first  time,  and  said: 

“Chief  steward,  my  lord,  thou  art  greatest  of  the  great,  thou  art  guide  of  all 
that  which  is  not  and  which  is.  When  thou  embarkest  on  the  sea  of  truth,  that 

thou  mayest  go  sailing  upon  it,  then  shall  not  the . strip  away  thy  sail, 

then  thy  ship  shall  not  remain  fast,  then  shall  no  misfortune  happen  to  thy  mast, 
then  shall  thy  spars  (?)  not  be  broken,  then  shalt  thou  not  be  stranded;  if  thou 
runnest  fast  aground ,  the  waves  shall  not  break  upon  thee,  then  thou  shalt  not 
taste  the  impurities  of  the  river,  then  thou  shalt  not  behold  the  face  of  fear;  the 
shyest  (?)  fish  shall  come  to  thee,  and  thou  shalt  capture  the  fat  birds.  For 
thou  art  the  father  of  the  orphan,  the  husband  of  the  widow,  the  brother  of  the 
desolate,  the  garment  of  the  motherless.  Let  me  place  thy  name  in  this  land 
higher  than  all  good  laws:  thou  guide  without  avarice,  thou  great  one  free  from 
meanness,  who  destroyest  deceit,  who  createst  truthfulness.  Throw  the  evil  to 
the  ground.  I  will  speak;  hear  me.  Do  justice,  O  thou  praised  one,  whom  the 

praised  ones  praise.  Remove  my  oppression:  behold,  I  have  a  heavy . to 

carry;  behold,  I  am  troubled  of  soul;  examine  me,  I  am  in  sorrow.” 


1  See  Gardiner  in  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology ,  XXXV,  269. 


420 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


The  reference  in  this  address  to  the  orphan  and  the  widow 
touches  a  chord  which  runs  through  much  of  the  Old  Testament  and 
is  especially  prominent  in  the  prophets,  as  the  following  references 
will  indicate:  Isa.  1  :  17,  23;  9  :  17;  10  :  2;  47  :  8;  Jer.  7  : 6;  15  :  8; 
18  :  21;  22  :  3;  49  :  11;  Ezek.  22  :  7,  25;  Zech.  7  :  10;  Mai.  3:5; 
Deut.  10  :  18;  14  :  29;  Job  29  :  13,  and  Psa.  68  :  5. 

In  the  Egyptian  story  Meruitensi  was  so  pleased  with  the  elo¬ 
quence  of  the  peasant  that  he  passed  him  on  to  another  officer  and 
he  to  still  another  until  he  came  before  the  king.  Altogether  the 
peasant  made  nine  addresses.  For  lack  of  space  we  can  reproduce 
but  one  more.  For  this  purpose  we  select  his  eighth  address. 

This  peasant  came  to  implore  him  for  the  eighth  time,  and  said: 

“Chief  steward,  my  lord,  man  falls  on  account  of . Greed  is  absent  from  a 

good  merchant.  His  good  commerce  is . 

“Thy  heart  is  greedy;  it  does  not  become  thee.  Thou  despoilest:  this  is  not 

praiseworthy  for  thee . Thy  daily  rations  are  in  thy  house;  thy  body  is  well 

filled . The  officers,  who  are  set  as  a  protection  against  injustice, — a  curse  to 

the  shameless  are  these  officers,  who  are  set  as  a  bulwark  against  lies. 

“Fear  of  thee  has  not  deterred  me  from  supplicating  thee;  (if  thou  thinkest  so), 
thou  hast  not  known  my  heart.  The  silent  one,  who  turns  to  report  to  thee  his 

difficulties,  is  not  afraid  to  present  them  to  thee . Thy  real  estate  is  in  the 

country;  thy  bread  is  on  thy  estate;  thy  food  is  in  the  storehouse.  Thy  officials 
give  to  thee  and  thou  takest  it.  Art  thou,  then,  not  a  robber?  They  drag  for 

thee . for  thee  to  the  plots  of  arable  land.  Do  the  truth  for  the  sake  of  the 

lord  of  truth . Thou  reed  of  a  scribe,  thou  roll  of  a  book,  thou  palette,  thou 

god  Thoth,  thou  oughtest  to  keep  thyself  far  removed  from  injustice.  Thou 
virtuous  one,  thou  shouldst  be  virtuous;  thou  virtuous  one,  thou  shouldst  be 
really  virtuous.  Further,  truth  is  true  to  eternity.  She  goes  with  those  who 
perform  her  to  the  region  of  the  dead.  He  will  be  laid  in  the  coffin  and  com¬ 
mitted  to  the  earth;  his  name  will  not  perish  from  the  earth,  but  men  will  re¬ 
member  him  on  account  of  his  property:  so  runs  the  right  interpretation  of  the 
divine  word. 

“Does  it  then  happen  that  the  scales  stand  aslant?  Or  is  it  thinkable  that 
the  scales  incline  to  one  side? 

“Behold,  if  I  come  not,  if  another  comes,  then  thou  hast  opportunity  to  speak 
as  one  who  answers,  as  one  who  addresses  the  silent,  as  one  who  responds  to 

him  who  has  not  spoken  to  thee.  Thou  hast  not  been . ;  thou  hast  not  been 

sick.  Thou  hast  not  fled;  thou  hast  not  departed.  But  thou  hast  not  yet 
granted  me  any  reply  to  this  beautiful  word  which  comes  from  the  mouth  of  the 
sun-god  himself:  ‘Speak  the  truth;  do  the  truth:  for  it  is  great,  it  is  mighty,  it  is 
everlasting.  It  will  obtain  for  thee  merit,  and  will  lead  thee  to  veneration.’ 

“For  does  the  scale  stand  aslant?  It  is  their  scale-pans  that  bear  the  objects, 
and  in  just  scales  there  is  no . wanting.” 


The  beauty  of  the  sentiments  about  truth  is  obvious.  The 
references  to  scales  are  to  those  that  were  supposed  to  weigh  the 
deeds  of  the  dead  in  the  under- world. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  PASSAGES  IN  THE  PROPHETS  421 


After  a  ninth  speech  on  the  part  of  the  peasant,  the  tale  con¬ 
cludes  as  follows: 

Then  the  chief  steward,  Meraitensi,  sent  two  servants  to  bring  him  back. 
Thereupon  the  peasant  feared  that  he  would  suffer  thirst,  as  a  punishment 

imposed  upon  him  for  what  he  had  said.  Then  the  peasant  said . (The 

Egyptian  of  this  address  contains  difficulties  which  have  never  been  solved.) 

Then  said  the  chief  steward,  Meruitensi:  “Fear  not,  peasant!  See,  thou  shalt 
remain  with  me.”  Then  said  the  peasant:  “I  live  because  I  eat  of  thy  bread  and 
drink  thy  beer  forever.” 

Then  said  the  chief  steward,  Meruitensi:  “Come  out  here . ”  Then 

he  caused  them  to  bring,  written  on  a  new  roll,  all  the  addresses  of  these  days. 
The  chief  steward  sent  them  to  his  majesty,  the  king  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt, 
Neb-kau-re,  the  blessed,  and  they  were  more  agreeable  to  the  heart  of  his 
majesty  than  all  that  was  in  his  land.  His  majesty  said,  “Pass  sentence  thyself, 
my  beloved  son!”  Then  the  chief  steward,  Meruitensi,  caused  two  servants  to 
go  and  bring  a  list  of  the  household  (of  Dehuti-necht)  from  the  government 

office,  and  his  possessions  were  six  persons,  with  a  selection  from  his . ,  from 

his  barley,  from  his  spelt,  from  his  asses,  from  his  swine,  from  his . 

From  this  point  on  only  a  few  words  of  the  tale  can  be  made  out, 
but  it  appears  from  these  that  the  goods  selected  from  the  estate  of 
Dehuti-necht  were  given  to  the  peasant  and  he  was  sent  home 
rejoicing. 

3.  An  Ideal  King. 

In  the  wisdom  literature  of  Egypt  appear  the  admonitions  of  an 
Egyptian  sage  called  Ipuwer.  In  these  admonitions  a  time  of  dire 
distress  is  pictured,  in  view  of  which  the  sage  longs  for  the  presence 
of  an  ideal  king.  Some  scholars  have  compared  the  description  of 
this  ideal  king  with  the  prophetic  conception  of  the  Messiah. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  quote  the  whole  work,  which  is  fragmentary 
and  difficult  of  translation.  A  few  passages  will  answer  our 
purpose. 

From  the  Admonitions  of  Ipuwer1 

. The  door-keepers  say:  Let  us  go  and  plunder.  The  confectioners 

. The  washerman  refuses  to  carry  his  load . The  bird-catch¬ 
ers  have  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle . The  inhabitants  of  the  Marshes 

carry  shields.  The  brewers . sad.  A  man  looks  upon  his  son  as  his 

enemy; . 

Noble  ladies  suffer  like  slave  girls.  Musicians  are  in  the  chambers  within  the 

halls.  What  they  sing  to  the  goddess  Mert  is  dirges . Forsooth,  all 

female  slaves  are  free  with  their  tongues.  When  the  mistress  speaks  it  is  irksome 
to  the  servants.  Forsooth,  princes  are  hungry  and  in  distress.  Servants  are 

served . by  reason  of  mourning.  Forsooth,  the  hot-headed  (?)  man 

says:  “If  I  knew  where  God  is,  then  would  I  make  offerings  unto  him.”  For- 

1  Taken  from  A.  H.  Gardiner’s  Admonitions  of  an  Egyptian  Sage,  Leipzig,  1909,  pp.  19  and  39, 
f.,  pp.  69  and  78. 


422 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


sooth,  right  is  throughout  the  land  in  this  its  name.  What  men  do  in  appealing 
to  it  is  wrong.  Forsooth,  all  animals,  their  hearts  weep.  Cattle  moan  because 

of  the  state  of  the  land . Forsooth,  the  ways  are . 

The  roads  are  guarded.  Men  sit  over  the  bushes  until  the  benighted  traveler 
comes,  in  order  to  plunder  his  burden.  What  is  upon  him  is  taken  away.  He  is 
belabored  with  blows  of  the  stick  and  slain  wrongfully. 

Forsooth,  that  has  perished  which  yesterday  was  seen  (?).  The  land  is  left 
over  to  its  weariness  (?)  like  the  cutting  of  flax.  Poor  men  are  in  affliction 

. Would  that  there  might  be  an  end  of  men,  no  conception,  no  birth! 

O  that  the  earth  would  cease  from  noise,  and  tumult  be  no  more! . 

Forsooth,  grain  has  perished  on  every  side.  People  are  stripped  of  clothes, 
spices  (?)  and  oil.  Everybody  says  there  is  none.  The  storehouse  is  ruined. 
Its  keeper  is  stretched  on  the  ground.  It  is  no  happy  thing  for  my  heart  (?) 

. .. . Would  that  I  had  made  my  voice  heard  at  that  moment,  that  it 

might  save  me  from  the  pain  in  which  I  am  (?) . Behold,  the  powerful 

of  the  land,  the  condition  of  the  people  is  not  reported  to  them.  All  is  ruin! 
Behold,  no  craftsmen  work.  The  enemies  of  the  land  have  spoilt  its  crafts. 


Similar  descriptions  of  the  disorganized  state  of  society  might  be 
quoted  at  much  greater  length.  The  passage  in  which  Ipuwer 
mentions  the  ideal  king  is  as  follows: 

. lack  of  people . Re;  command  (?) . 

the  West  to  diminish  (?) . by  the  [gods?].  Behold  ye,  wherefore  does 

he  [seek]  to  fashion  [mankind], . without  distinguishing  the  timid  man 

from  him  whose  nature  is  violent.  He  bringeth  coolness  upon  that  which  is  hot. 
It  is  said :  he  is  the  herdsman  of  mankind.  No  evil  is  in  his  heart.  When  his 
herds  are  few,  he  passes  the  day  to  gather  them  together,  their  hearts  being  on 
fire.  Would  that  he  had  perceived  their  nature  in  the  first  generation  of  men; 
then  would  he  have  repressed  evils,  he  would  have  stretched  forth  his  arm 

against  it,  he  would  have  destroyed  their  seed  and  their  inheritance . 

Where  is  he  today?  Is  he  sleeping?  Behold,  his  might  is  not  seen. 


Vogelsang  held  this  to  be  a  picture  of  a  kind  of  ideal  king,  com¬ 
parable  in  some  respects  to  the  prophetic  conception  of  the  Messiah 
in  such  passages  as  Isa.  9  :  1-6;  11  :  1-8.  To  this  view  Gardiner 
has  objected  that  the  parallelism  is  not  real,  in  that  there  seems  to 
have  been  in  the  mind  of  the  Egyptian  sage  no  expectation  that 
such  a  king  would  actually  rise,  but  rather  the  belief  that  he  once 
existed  as  the  god  Re  and  has  now  vanished  from  earth.  To  this 
Breasted  and  Gressmann  reply  that  the  kingly  figure  is  a  purely 
ideal  one,  and  that  Ipuwer  feels  strongly  that,  if  he  were  on  earth 
all  wrongs  would  be  set  right,  and  that  in  some  degree  the  picture 
is  parallel  to  the  conceptions  of  the  Messiah. 

The  description  of  disorganized  society  which  is  here  reflected 
is  patterned  on  conditions  which  existed  in  Egypt  before  2000  b.  c., 
and  the  conception  of  the  ideal  king  is  equally  old. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  PASSAGES  IN  THE  PROPHETS  423 


4.  Sheol. 

In  Isa.  14  : 9—1 1  and  Ezek.  32  :  21-31  we  find  descriptions  of 
Sheol  or  the  under-world.  These  descriptions  are  closely  parallel 
to  the  following  Babylonian  poem. 


Ishtar’s  Descent  to  the  Under- world1 

Unto  the  land  of  No-return,  the  land  of  darkness, 

Ishtar,  the  daughter  of  Sin,  determined  to  go, 

The  daughter  of  Sin  determined  to  go, 

Unto  the  house  of  darkness,  the  dwelling  of  Irkalla, 

5.  Unto  the  house  whose  enterer  never  comes  out, 

Along  the  way  whose  going  has  no  return, 

Unto  the  house  whose  enterer  is  deprived  of  light, 

Where  dust  is  their  food,  their- sustenance,  clay, 

Light  they  do  not  see,  in  darkness  they  dwell; 

10.  They  are  clothed,  like  birds,  with  a  covering  of  wings. 

Over  door  and  bolt  the  dust  is  spread. 

Ishtar,  when  she  arrived  at  the  gate  of  the  land  of  No-return 
To  the  keeper  of  the  gate  addressed  a  word: 

“Keeper  of  the  waters,  open  thy  gate! 

15.  Open  thy  gate!  Let  me  enter! 

If  thou  dost  not  open  thy  gate,  that  I  may  enter, 

I  will  shatter  the  door,  I  will  break  the  bolt, 

I  will  shiver  the  threshold,  break  down  the  doors; 

I  will  bring  up  the  dead  to  devour  the  living!” 

20.  The  keeper  opened  his  mouth  and  spake, 

He  said  to  Ishtar,  the  great: 

“Stay,  my  lady,  do  not  destroy  it, 

Let  me  go,  let  me  announce  thy  name  to  Queen  Allat.” 

The  keeper  went  in,  he  spake  [to  Allat] : 

25.  “This  water  thy  sister,  Ishtar,  [has  crossed] 

As  a  servant  of  great  powers  [she  comes].” 

When  Allat  heard  this, 

Like  the  cutting  of  the  tamarisk  [was  her  laugh], 

30.  Like  the  crackling  of  reeds.  [She  cried] : 

“What  has  turned  her  mind  to  me? . 

These  waters  I  with . 

For  food  I  will  eat  clay,  for  drink  I  will  drink . 

I  will  weep  for  men  who  have  abandoned  their  wives, 

35.  I  will  weep  for  maidens  torn  from  their  husbands’  bosoms, 

I  will  weep  for  children  snatched  away  before  their  time. 

Go,  keeper,  open  thy  gate  to  her; 

Do  to  her  according  to  the  ancient  custom.” 

The  keeper  went  and  opened  to  her  his  gate: 

40.  “Enter,  my  lady;  the  under-world  is  glad, 

The  palace  of  the  land  of  No-return  rejoices  at  thy  coming.” 

He  brought  her  through  the  first  gate,  made  it  wide,  he  took  the  great 
crown  from  her  head. 

“Why,  O  keeper,  hast  thou  taken  the  great  crown  from  my  head?” 
“Enter,  my  lady,  such  are  the  commands  of  Allat.” 

1  Translated  from  Rawlinson’s  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  Vol.  IV,  p.  31. 


424 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


45.  He  brought  her  through  the  second  gate,  he  made  it  wide,  he  took  the 
ornaments  from  her  ears. 

“Why,  0  keeper,  hast  thou  taken  the  ornaments  from  my  ears?” 
“Enter,  my  lady,  for  such  are  the  commands  of  Allat.” 

He  brought  her  through  the  third  gate,  he  made  it  wide,  he  took  the 
necklace  from  her  neck. 

“Why,  0  keeper,  hast  thou  taken  the  necklace  from  my  neck?” 

50.  “Enter,  0  lady,  for  such  are  the  commands  of  Allat.” 

He  brought  her  through  the  fourth  gate,  he  made  it  wide,  he  took  the 
ornaments  from  her  breasts. 

“Why,  0  keeper,  hast  thou  taken  the  ornaments  from  my  breast?” 
“Enter,  my  lady,  for  such  are  the  commands  of  Allat.” 

He  brought  her  through  the  fifth  gate,  he  made  it  wide,  he  took  the 
girdle  with  birth-stones  from  her  waist. 

55.  “Why,  O  keeper,  hast  thou  taken  the  girdle  with  birth-stones  from  my 
waist?” 

“Enter,  my  lady,  for  such  are  the  commands  of  Allat.” 

He  brought  her  through  the  sixth  gate,  he  made  it  wide,  he  took  the 
bracelets  from  her  hands  and  feet. 

“Why,  O  keeper,  hast  thou  taken  the  bracelets  from  my  hands  and 
feet?” 

“Enter,  my  lady,  for  such  are  the  commands  of  Allat.” 

60.  He  brought  her  through  the  seventh  gate,  he  made  it  wide,  he  took  the 
breech-cloth  from  her  body. 

“Why,  O  keeper,  hast  thou  taken  the  breech-cloth  from  my  body?” 
“Enter,  my  lady,  for  such  are  the  commands  of  Allat.” 

When  Ishtar  had  gone  down  to  the  land  of  No-return, 

Allat  saw  her  and  became  enraged  at  her. 

65.  Ishtar  took  no  heed;  she  sat  down  above  her. 

Allat  opened  her  mouth  and  spake, 

To  Namtar,  her  messenger,  she  addressed  a  word: 

“Go,  Namtar,  lock  [her  in  my  palace], 

Bring  out  against  her  sixty  diseases . Ishtar, 

70.  Disease  of  the  eyes  against  her  [eyes], 

Disease  of  the  side  against  her  [sides], 

Disease  of  the  feet  against  her  [feet], 

Disease  of  the  heart  against  [her  heart], 

Disease  of  the  head  against  [her  head], 

75.  Against  her  altogether . ” 

After  Ishtar,  the  lady,  [went  down  to  the  land  of  No-return] 

The  bull  with  the  cow  did  not  unite,  nor  the  ass  approach  the  she-ass; 
The  man  in  the  street  no  more  approached  the  maid; 

The  man  slept  in  his  chamber, 

80.  The  maid  slept  by  her  oven. 

Papsukal,  messenger  of  the  great  gods,  was  sad  of  countenance  before 
[Shamash], 

Clad  in  mourning,  wearing  foul  garments. 

Then  went  Shamash  into  the  presence  of  Sin,  his  father;  he  wept, 
Before  Ea,  the  king,  his  tears  flowed: 

85.  “Ishtar  has  gone  down  into  the  earth;  she  has  not  come  up. 

Since  Ishtar  went  down  to  the  land  of  No-return, 

The  bull  with  the  cow  does  not  unite,  nor  the  ass  approach  the  she- 
ass; 

The  man  no  more  approaches  the  maid  in  the  street; 

The  man  sleeps  in  his  chamber, 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  PASSAGES  IN  THE  PROPHETS  425 


90.  The  maid  sleeps  by  her  oven. 

Then  Ea  in  the  wisdom  of  his  heart  created  a  man, 

He  created  Asushunamir,  the  priest. 

“Go,  Asushunamir,  to  the  gate  of  the  land  without  return  set  thy  face, 
The  seven  gates  of  the  land  without  return  shall  be  opened  before  thee, 
95.  Allat  shall  behold  thee,  and  shall  rejoice  in  thy  presence. 

When  her  heart  has  been  appeased,  and  her  soul  revived, 

Conjure  her  also  by  the  name  of  the  great  gods. 

Turn  thy  thoughts  to  the  skin  which  pours  forth  life: 

‘O  lady,  give  me  the  skin  which  pours  forth  life,  that  I  may  drink  water 
from  it.’  ” 

100.  When  Allat  heard  this, 

She  beat  upon  her  thigh,  she  bit  her  finger: 

“Thou  hast  uttered  a  wish  not  to  be  wished. 

Go,  Asushunamir;  I  curse  thee  with  a  great  curse. 

The  sewage  of  the  gutters  of  the  city  shall  be  thy  food,  • 

105.  The  cesspools  of  the  city  shall  be  thy  drink, 

The  shadow  of  the  walls  shall  be  thy  dwelling, 

The  thresholds  shall  be  thy  habitation, 

Confinement  and  privation  shall  shatter  thy  strength.” 

Allat  opened  her  mouth  and  spoke, 

110.  To  Nam  tar,  her  messenger,  she  addressed  the  word: 

“Go,  Namtar,  knock  at  the  palace  of  justice, 

Tap  at  the  thresholds  of  gleaming  (?)  stones, 

Bring  out  the  Annunaki,1  seat  them  on  golden  thrones, 

Sprinkle  Ishtar  with  the  water  of  life  and  bring  her  before  me.” 

115.  Namtar  went,  he  knocked  at  the  palace  of  justice, 

He  tapped  at  the  thresholds  of  gleaming  (?)  stones, 

He  brought  forth  the  Annunaki,  he  seated  them  on  golden  thrones, 

He  sprinkled  Ishtar  with  the  water  of  life,  he  brought  her  forth. 

He  brought  her  out  of  the  first  gate,  he  restored  to  her  the  breech-cloth 
of  her  body; 

120.  He  brought  her  through  the  second  gate,  he  restored  to  her  the  bracelets 
of  her  hands  and  feet; 

He  brought  her  through  the  third  gate,  he  restored  to  her  the  girdle  with 
birth-stones  for  her  waist; 

He  brought  her  through  the  fourth  gate,  he  restored  to  her  the  ornaments 
of  her  breasts; 

He  brought  her  through  the  fifth  gate,  he  restored  to  her  the  necklace 
of  her  neck; 

He  brought  her  through  the  sixth  gate,  he  restored  to  her  the  ornaments 
of  her  ears; 

125.  He  brought  her  through  the  seventh  gate,  he  restored  to  her  the  crown 
of  her  head. 

(End  of  legend.  The  priest  begins:) 

“If  she  does  not  grant  to  thee  her  release,  turn  to  her  again; 

To  Tammuz,  the  beloved  of  her  youth, 

Pour  out  water,  offer  good  oil, 

With  red  clothing  clothe  him,  let  him  play  a  flute  of  lapis  lazuli. 

130.  Let  the  joyful  maidens  turn, . 

When  Belili  has  established  her  ritual, 

With  precious  stones  her  bosom  is  filled.” 

The  wailing  for  her  brother  she  heard;  Belili  interrupted  the  ritual  of ... . 

With  precious  stones  she  filled  the  front  of . 

1  The  spirits  of  earth. 


426 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


(Voice  from  the  dead.) 

135.  “My  only  brother,  harm  me  not; 

On  the  day  of  Tammuz,  play  for  me  the  lapis  lazuli  flute,  play  the  Santu- 
flute  with  it, 

When  the  wailing  men  and  women  play  with  it, 

Let  the  dead  return,  let  them  smell  incense.” 

The  description  of  the  darkness  of  the  under-world  and  the  sad 
conditions  of  life  with  which  this  poem  begins,  shows  that  the  Baby¬ 
lonians  shared  the  gloomy  views  of  Sheol  which  Isa.  14  :  9-11  and 
Ezek.  32  :  21-31  express. 

The  middle  of  the  poem  expresses  the  view  of  the  ancient  Semites, 
that  the  goddess  of  love  once  went  down  to  the  under-world,  and 
that  as  a  result  all  propagation  of  life  ceased  on  the  earth.  The 
end  of  it  alludes  to  the  later  belief  that  the  goddess  went  down  every 
year  for  her  beloved  Tammuz  who  had  died,  and  the  wailing  alluded 
to  is  that  spoken  of  by  Ezekiel  in  Ezek.  8  : 14,  where  the  prophet 
says  he  saw  women  wailing  for  Tammuz.  The  kind  of  sentiment 
uttered  in  this  wailing  the  next  extract  will* illustrate. 

5.  A  Lamentation  for  Tammuz.1 

The  lord  of  destiny  (?)  lives  no  more,  the  lord  of  destiny  (?)  lives  no  more. 

[Tammuz  the . ]  lives  no  more, . lives  no  more. 

The  bewailed  one  (?)  lives  no  more,  the  lord  of  destiny  (?)  lives  no  more. 
I  am  queen,  my  husband  lives  no  more. 

5.  My  son  lives  no  more. 

Dagalushumgalanna  lives  no  more. 

The  lord  of  Arallu  lives  no  more. 

The  lord  of  Durgurgurru  lives  no  more. 

The  shepherd,  the  lord  Tammuz  lives  no  more. 

10.  The  lord,  the  shepherd  of  the  folds  lives  no  more. 

The  consort  of  the  queen  of  heaven  lives  no  more. 

The  lord  of  the  folds  lives  no  more. 

The  brother  of  the  mother  of  wine  lives  no  more. 

[He  who  creates]  the  fruit  of  the  land  lives  no  more. 

15.  The  powerful  lord  of  the  land  lives  no  more. 

When  he  slumbers  the  sheep  and  lambs  slumber  also. 

When  he  slumbers  the  goats  and  kids  slumber  also. 

As  for  me,  to  the  abode  of  the  deep  will  I  turn  my  thoughts, 

To  the  abode  of  the  great  ones  I  turn  my  thoughts. 

20.  “O  hero,  my  lord,  ah  me,”  I  will  say, 

“Food  I  eat  not,”  I  will  say, 

“Water  I  drink  not,”  I  will  say, 

“My  good  maiden,”  I  will  say, 

“My  good  husbandman,”  I  will  say, 

25.  “Thy  lord,  the  exalted  one,  to  the  nether  world  has  taken  his  way, 

Thy  lord,  the  exalted  one,  to  the  nether  world  has  taken  his  way.” 

1  Translated  from  Cuneiform  Texts  from  Babylonian  Tablets,  &c.,  in  the  British  Museum,  Part 
XV,  18. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  PASSAGES  IN  THE  PROPHETS  427 

On  account  of  the  exalted  one  of  the  nether  world,  him  of  the  radiant  face, 
yea,  radiant, 

On  account  of  the  exalted  one  of  the  nether  world,  him  of  the  dovelike 
voice,  yea,  dovelike, 

On  account  of  the  exalted  one,  the  lord,  on  account  of  the  lord, 

30.  Food  I  eat  not  on  account  of  the  lord, 

Water  I  drink  not,  on  account  of  the  lord. 

“My  good  maiden,  because  of  the  lord, 

My  good  husbandman,  on  account  of  the  lord, 

The  hero,  your  lord  has  been  destroyed, 

35.  The  god  of  grain,  the  child,  your  lord,  has  been  destroyed.” 

His  kindly  look  gives  peace  no  more, 

His  kindly  voice  imparts  cheer  (?)  no  more; 

. in  his  place,  like  a  dog  he  sleeps; 

My  lord  in  his . slumbers  like  a  raven 

40.  Alone  is  he,  himself, 

My  lord,  for  whom  the  wail  is  raised. 

(Forty-one  lines — a  psalm  on  the  flute  to  Tammuz.) 

This  poem  illustrates  what  Ezekiel  may  have  heard  in  vision, 
when  in  spirit  he  was  brought  to  the  northern  gate  of  the  temple,  and 
heard  women  wailing  for  Tammuz  (Ezek.  8  :  14). 


CHAPTER  XXV 


REPUTED  SAYINGS  OF  JESUS  FOUND  IN  EGYPT 

Early  Collections  of  the  Words  of  Jesus.  Translation  of  Sayings  Found 
in  1897.  Comments.  Translation  of  a  Leaf  Found  in  1904.  Comments.  Opin¬ 
ions  AS  TO  THESE  SAYINGS. 

The  Gospel  of  Luke  begins  with  the  words:  “  Forasmuch  as  many 
have  taken  in  hand  to  draw  up  a  narrative  concerning  those  matters 
which  have  been  fulfilled  among  us,” — words  which  imply  that  there 
were  in  the  early  Church  many  attempts  at  Gospel  writing.  Some 
of  these  attempts  apparently  took  the  form  of  collecting  the  sayings 
of  Jesus.  At  Oxyrhynchus  in  Egypt  two  different  leaves  of  papyrus 
have  been  found  on  which  such  sayings  are  written.  The  first  of 
these  was  found  by  Grenfell  and  Hunt  in  1897;  (Fig.  301).  It 
begins  in  the  middle  of  a  sentence,  but  it  is  a  sentence  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  which  can  be  supplied  from  Matt.  7:5.  When  complete 
the  sentence  runs  thus:1 

[Jesus  saith,  Cast  out  first  the  beam  from  thine  own  eye],  and 
then  shalt  thou  see  clearly  to  cast  out  the  mote  that  is  in  thy  broth¬ 
er’s  eye. 

On  this  saying  compare  Matt.  7:5;  Luke  6  :  42. 

The  second  one  runs : 

Jesus  saith,  Except  ye  fast  to  the  world,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  find 
the  kingdom  of  God ;  and  except  ye  keep  the  sabbath,  ye  shall  not 
see  the  Father. 

This  saying  does  not  occur  in  the  Gospels,  and  has  given  rise  to 
wide  discussion  among  scholars. 

The  third  is  as  follows: 

♦ 

1  These  sayings  are  translated  from  Grenfell  and  Hunt’s  Sayings  of  Our  Lord,  1897,  with  a  com¬ 
parison  of  Lock  and  Sanday’s  Two  Lectures  on  the  Sayings  of  Jesus  Recently  Discovered  at  Oxyrhyn¬ 
chus,  1897. 


428 


REPUTED  SAYINGS  OF  JESUS  FOUND  IN  EGYPT  429 


Jesus  saith,  I  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  world,  and  in  the  flesh 
was  I  seen  of  them,  and  I  found  all  men  drunken,  and  none  found 
I  athirst  among  them,  and  my  soul  grieveth  over  the  sons  of  men, 
because  they  are  blind  in  their  heart  [and  see  not],  poor,  and  know 
not  their  poverty. 

This  saying  also  is  not  found  in  the  Gospels.  It  is  difficult  to 
tell  whether  it  was  thought  to  have  been  spoken  by  Jesus  before  or 
after  the  resurrection. 

The  fourth  saying  is  difficult  of  translation  and  interpretation, 
since  the  text  is  not  at  all  clear.  As  emended  by  Harnack  and 
Swete,  it  would  run: 

Jesus  saith,  Wherever  there  are  two  they  are  not  without  God, 
and  if  one  is  alone  anywhere,  I  say  I  am  with  him.  Raise  the 
stone,  there  thou  shalt  find  me ;  cleave  the  wood,  and  there  I  am. 

This  saying  has  given  rise  to  much  discussion  and  to  a  large 
literature,  but  reference  can  here  be.  made  only  to  Henry  van 
Dyke’s  poem  Felix.  With  the  last  part  of  the  saying  Matt.  18  :  20 
should  be  compared. 

The  fifth  saying  is  as  follows: 

Jesus  saith,  A  prophet  is  not  acceptable  in  his  own  country, 
neither  doth  a  physician  work  cures  upon  them  that  know  him. 

The  first  part  of  this  is  akin  to  Luke  4  :  24;  Mark  6:4;  Matt. 
13  :  57,  and  John  4  :  44.  The  last  part  of  it  is  not  in  the  Gospels. 

The  sixth  one  reads: 

Jesus  saith,  A  city  built  on  the  top  of  a  high  hill  and  firmly 
established  can  neither  fall  nor  be  hid. 

In  this  saying  the  thought  of  Matt.  5  : 14  is  combined  with  that  of 
Matt.  7  :  24,  25,  but  there  is  no  necessary  literary  dependence  upon 
Matthew. 

The  seventh  and  last  saying  on  this  leaf  is: 

[Jesus  saith,]  Thou  hearest  with  one  ear,  but  the  other  thou 
hast  closed. 


430 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


This,  too,  is  not  found  in  our  Gospels. 

In  1904  another  leaf  of  sayings  of  Jesus  was  found  at  the  same 
place.  It  begins  with  a  general  introduction,  thus:1 

These  are  the  [wonderful?]2  words  which  Jesus  the  living  Lord 
spake  [to  the  disciples]  and  to  Thomas,  and  he  said  to  them: 
Every  one  that  hearkens  to  these  words  shall  never  taste  of  death. 

These  words  formed  the  general  introduction  to  a  collection  of 
sayings  of  Jesus,  similar  to  that  from  which  the  sayings  already 
quoted  were  taken.  The  leaf  also  contained  a  few  of  the  sayings 
which  stood  in  the  collection.  They  are  as  follows: 

Jesus  saith,  Let  not  him  who  seeks . cease  until  he  finds, 

and  when  he  finds  he  shall  be  astonished;  astonished  he  shall 
reach  the  kingdom,  and  having  reached  the  kingdom  he  shall  rest. 

The  Gospels  contain  parallels  to  parts  of  this  saying.  (See  Matt. 
6  :  33;  7  :  7;  13  : 44;  Luke  5  :  9. 

The  second  of  these  sayings  is  longer: 

Jesus  saith,  [Ye  ask  (?)  who  are  those]  that  draw  us  [to  the  king¬ 
dom,  if]  the  kingdom  is  in  heaven? . the  fowls  of  the  air,  and 

all  the  beasts  that  are  under  the  earth  or  upon  the  earth,  and  the 
fishes  of  the  sea,  [these  are  they  which  draw]  you,  and  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  is  within  you;  and  whosoever  shall  know  himself  shall 
find  it.  [Strive  therefore  (?)]  to  know  yourselves,  and  ye  shall  be 
aware  that  ye  are  the  sons  of  the  [Almighty  (?)]  Father;  [and  (?)] 
ye  shall  know  that  ye  are  in  [the  city  of  God  (?)]  and  ye  are  [the 
city  (?)]. 

The  first  part  of  this  saying'  attributes  to  Christ  a  saying  evi¬ 
dently  based  on  the  thought  of  Job  12  :  7,  8.  Other  parts  of  the 
saying  recall  Luke  17  :  21  and  Luke  20  :  36,  though  the  phrases 
which  remind  us  of  these  passages  form  but  a  small  part  of  the  say¬ 
ing  and  appear  here  in  quite  a  different  connection. 

The  third  saying  runs: 


1  Translated  from  Grenfell  and  Hunt’s  New  Sayings  of  Jesus  and  Fragment  of  a  Lost  Gospel  from 
Oxyrhynchus,  1904. 

2  Compare  John  21  :  24,  25. 


REPUTED  SAYINGS  OF  JESUS  FOUND  IN  EGYPT  431 


Jesus  saith,  A  man  shall  not  hesitate . to  ask . concern¬ 

ing  his  place  [in  the  kingdom.  Ye  shall  know]  that  many  that  are 
first  shall  be  last  and  the  last  first  and  [they  shall  have  eternal 
life  (?)]. 

A  part  of  this  saying  follows  Mark  10  :  31  and  Matt.  19  :  301; 
cf.  also  Luke  13  :  30.  The  last  clause  is  conjectural,  but,  if  cor¬ 
rect,  is  similar  to  John  3  :  16,  36;  5  :  24. 

The  fourth: 

Jesus  saith,  Everything  that  is  not  before  thy  face  and  that  which 
is  hidden  from  thee  shall  be  revealed  to  thee.  For  there  is  nothing 
hidden  which  shall  not  be  made  manifest,  nor  buried  which  shall 
not  be  raised. 

The  last  part  of  this  saying  is  parallel  to  Matt.  10  : 26;  Luke 
12  :  2;  see  also  Mark  4  :  22. 

The  fifth : 

His  disciples  question  him  and  say,  How  shall  we  fast  and  how 

shall  we  [pray  (?)] . and  what  [commandment]  shall  we  keep? 

. Jesus  saith, . do  not . of  truth . blessed  is 

he . 

The  papyrus  is  so  broken  that  we  cannot  hope  to  recover  this 
saying  in  its  entirety,  but  it  is  clear  that  it  differed  from  the  others 
in  having  an  introductory  clause  which  gave  the  occasion  when  it 
was  uttered. 

Judgments  have  differed  as  to  whether  all  these  sayings  are  really 
sayings  of  Jesus.  That  there  were  sayings  of  his  known  in  ancient 
times  that  are  not  recorded  in  our  Gospels  is  shown  by  Acts  20  :  35. 
Some,  at  least,  of  these  sayings  are  so  like  those  of  Jesus  that  it  is  not 
difficult  to  believe  them  his.  But  whether  they  are  his  or  not,  these 
papyri  make  clear  to  us  what  Luke  meant  when  he  said  “many 
have  taken  in  hand  to  draw  up  a  narrative.” 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  LIGHT  ON  THE  ENROLMENT  OF 

QUIRINIUS 

Translation  of  a  Papyrus  Showing  that  in  the  Second  Century  Enrolment  was 
made  Every  Fourteen  Years.  Comments.  Translation  Referring  to  an  Enrol¬ 
ment  in  the  Reign  of  Nero.  Fragment  from  the  Reign  of  Tiberius.  Enrolments 
Probably  Inaugurated  by  Augustus.  Document  Showing  that  People  Went 
to  their  Own  Towns  for  Enrolment.  Inscription  Supposed  to  Refer  to  Quirin- 
ius.  Inscription  from  Asia  Minor  Referring  to  Qulrinius.  Discussion.  Con¬ 
clusions. 

Archeological  research  has  recently  thrown  much  light  upon 
the  census  of  Quirinius  mentioned  in  Luke  2  :  1-5.  The  evidence 
has  come  in  part  from  ancient  records  on  papyri  which  have  been 
dug  up  in  Egypt,  some  of  which  are  herewith  translated. 

The  following  extract  from  a  large  papyrus  establishes  the  fact 
that  a  census  or  an  assessment-list  was  made  in  the  Roman  empire 
every  fourteen  years. 

1.  Papyrus  Showing  Enrolment  Every  Fourteen  Years.1 

After  the  death  of  my  wife  Aphrodite,  or,  as  she  was  called  by  some,  Aphrodi- 
toute,  having  departed  from  the  district  of  Herakles  and  Sabinos,  I  enrolled  the 
other  children  who  dwell  with  Mysthes  who  is  called  Ninnos,  who  was  33  years 
old,  and  after  the  others,  the  wife  of  my  son  Mysthes  who  is  called  Ninnos,  viz.: 
— Zozime,  freed-woman  of  Ptolemaios  Ammoniarios,  daughter  of  Marion 
Geomytha,  and  was  22  years  old,  (who  was  living  with  her  mistress,  in  the  enrol¬ 
ment  of  the  9th  year;  at  the  time  of  the  enrolment  she  [Zozime]  was  living  in  the 
Greek  quarter,  but  has  now  moved  into  the  neighboring  quarter  of  Apolloneios 
Hierax)  and  the  children  of  these  two,  Ammonios,  aged  5,  and  Didymos,  aged 

4,  and  Aut . ,  were  not  otherwise  enrolled  in  the  enrolment  in  the  first 

year  of  the  Emperor  Caesar  Marcus  Aurelius  Antoninus  Augustus  and  the  Em¬ 
peror  Caesar  Lucius  Aurelius  Verus  Augustus,  on  the  thirtieth  of  Payni  [ i .  e., 
June  24,  161  a.  d.].  To  Potomon,  governor  of  the  Arsinoite  district  of  Herakles, 
and  Asclepiades,  the  royal  census-taker,  and  Agathos  Daimon  and  Dioskoros, 
census-takers  of  the  metropolis,  on  behalf  of  Mysthes  who  is  called  Ninnos, 
Mysthes,  son  of  Philo,  whose  mother  is  Herais,  daughter  of  Ammoniosone,  of  the 
citizens  of  the  metropolis,  who  are  enrolled  from  the  quarter  of  Apolloneios 
Hierax:  there  belongs  to  me  in  the  district  of  Ammonios  part  of  the  place 
called  Nekpherotios,  in  which  I  enroll  myself  and  my  household  for  the  current 
enrolment  of  the  14th  year  according  to  the  household  enrolment,  as  also  I  en- 

1  Translated  from  Viereck’s  publication  of  the  text  in  Philologus,  Vol.  LII,  234,  f. 

432 


LIGHT  ON  THE  ENROLMENT  OF  QUIRINIUS  433 


rolled  myself  according  to  the  household  enrolment  in  the  23  rd  year  of  Antoninus 
(i.  e.,  160-161  a.  d.);  I  am  also  Mysthes  who  is  also  called  Ninnos;  the  one 
enrolled  is  59  years  old,  and  his  wife,  Zozime,  the  freed-woman  of  Ammoniarios, 
daughter  of  Marion,  who  was  enrolled  in  the  household  enrolment  of  the  23rd 

year  in  the  same  quarter,  is  38  years  old,  and  the  children  of  those  two, . 

not  enrolled  in  the  enrolments,  11  years  old,  and  likewise  Dioskoros  10  (?)  years 

old,  and  likewise . ,9  years  old,  and  a  daughter,  Isidora,  8  years  old:  thus 

I  make  my  deposition.  15th  year  of  the  Emperor  Marcus  Aurelius  Antoninus 
Caesar,  the  lord.  Intercalary  Mesore:  (i.  e.,  the  end  of  August,  175  a.  d.). 

This  papyrus,  dated  in  the  year  175  a.  d.,  is  very  import¬ 
ant  as  it  proves  that  the  census  came  every  fourteen  years.  The 
enrolment  mentioned  at  the  end  of  it  was  made  in  connection  with 
the  census  of  174-175  a.  d.,  since  the  document  is  dated  in  August 
of  the  year  175.  The  enrolment  mentioned  about  the  middle  of  the 
document  was  the  enrolment  of  160-161  A.  d.  That  was  dated  in 
the  summer  of  161.  The  one  mentioned  near  the  beginning  of  the 
quotation  as  having  been  made  in  the  9th  year  must  refer  to  the 
census  of  the  year  146-147,  and  the  9th  year  of  Antoninus  Pius, 
which  was  the  year  147.  The  proof  that  the  census  was  taken  every 
fourteen  years1  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  our  subject,  as  will 
appear  below. 

This  enrolment  was  made  by  one  Mysthes  Ninnos  on  behalf  of 
his  son,  who  wras  also  called  Mysthes  Ninnos,  the  wife  of  the  son 
who  was  a  freed-woman,  called  Zozime,  and  their  children,  who 
were  the  grandchildren  of  the  man  making  the  enrolment.  Mys¬ 
thes  Ninnos,  the  grandfather,  had  been  married  twice.  His  first 
wife  was  named  Aphrodite;  after  her  death  he  married  Herais,  the 
mother  of  the  son,  Mysthes  Ninnos. 

2.  Translation  Referring  to  an  Enrolment  in  the  Reign  of  Nero.2 

Copy  of  an  enrolment  of  Ammonios  and . ios,  the  gymnasiarch  and 

librarian  of  the  public  library  in  the  city  of  Arsinoe,  in  the  presence  of  Pa . 

xineos . Paesios,  son  of  Myo,  priest  of  those  who  are  from  Karanis  of  the 

district  of  Heracles.  According  to  the  commands  through  the  most  excellent 
governor,  Lucius  Julius  Vestinus,  I  have  enrolled  today  my  goods  which  are  free 
from  debt  and  mortgage  and  lien;  in  the  neighboring  village,  a  third  part  of  my 
father’s  house  and  courtyard,  and  places  cleared  of  abodes,  two  lots  of  a  half 
acre  each,  which  were  bought  from  Mesoereus,  son  of  Nekpheros,  in  the  fifth 
year  of  Nero  Claudius  Caesar  Augustus  Germanicus,  Emperor,  and  a  house  in 
the  village,  which  was  bought  from  Onnophreus,  son  of  Peteorsepeus,  in  the  sixth 
year  of  Nero  Claudius  Caesar  Augustus  Germanicus,  Emperor.  Whatever  I 
make  from  these  or  buy  in  addition  I  will  first  report  as  it  shall  occur. 

1  These  assessments,  then,  occurred  in  the  following  years:  174-5;  160-1;  146-7;  132-3;  118-9; 
104-5;  90-1;  76-7;  62-3;  48-9;  34-5;  20-1;  6-7;  9-8  b.  c. 

1  From  Hermes,  XXVIII,  1893,  p.  233. 


434 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


The  date  of  this  document,  which  is  only  a  copy,  is  not  given,  but 
as  it  refers  to  two  transactions  in  real  estate,  which  were  dated 
respectively  in  the  5th  and  6th  years  of  Nero,  and  as  that  monarch’s 
reign  began  in  October  of  the  year  54  a.  d.,  it  is  probable  that  this 
is  a  copy  of  an  enrolment  made  in  connection  with  the  census  of  62- 
63  a.  d.  This  proves  that  the  system  of  taking  the  census  once  in 
fourteen  years  was  in  operation  as  early  as  the  reign  of  Nero. 

3.  Fragment  from  the  Reign  of  Tiberius.1 

To  Eutychides  and  Theon,  local  census-takers  and  village  census-takers,  from 
Horion  and  Petosiris,  priest  of  Isis,  the  most  great  goddess,  of  the  temple  called 
the  Two  Brothers  in  the  city  of  Oxyrhynchus  on  the  street  Myrobalanos,  near 
the  Serapeum.  Those  who  live  in  the  house  which  belongs  to  me  and  my  wife 
Tasis  and  to  Taurius,  son  of  Harbichis,  and  to  Papontos,  son  of  Nechthesorios, 
and  to  Thsechemere,  in  the  house  which  is  near  the  aforesaid  temple  of  the  Two 
Brothers  are  as  follows: 

The  papyrus  at  this  point  becomes  too  mutilated  for  further 
translation. 

The  importance  of  this  document  is  revealed  by  an  examination 
of  the  names  of  the  officers,  Eutychides  and  Theon.  Another 
papyrus  from  the  same  place,  which  contains  a  notice  of  a  removal, 
is  dated  in  the  6th  year  of  the  Emperor  Tiberius.2  As  these  officers 
were  still  in  office  when  this  census  was  taken,  this  must  be  the 
census  of  the  year  20-21  a.  d. 

4.  Enrolments  Probably  Inaugurated  by  Augustus. 

Another  papyrus  contains  a  list  of  people  who  were  exempt  from 
poll-tax  in  the  41st  year  of  the  reign  of  Augustus.3  As  the  poll-tax 
was  intimately  connected  with  the  census,  it  is  altogether  probable 
that  the  census  was  inaugurated  by  Augustus.  As  he  became  em¬ 
peror  in  27  b.  c.  and  at  once  proceeded  to  organize  his  empire,  the 
census  may  have  begun  early  in  his  reign.  If  there  was  one  in  20 

a.  d.  there  would  be  one  in  6  a.  d.,  9-8  b.  c.,  and  possibly  in  23-22 

b.  c.  If  there  was  not  one  in  23-22,  that  in  9-8  b.  c.  would  be  the 
first.  This  is  the  one  to  which  reference  is  made  in  Luke  2:2.  If 
the  birth  of  Jesus  occurred  at  the  time  of  this  census,  it  must  have 
been  earlier  than  we  usually  suppose.  Ramsay  thinks  that  the 

translated  from  Grenfell  and  Hunt’s  Oxyrhynchus  Papyri,  II,  1898,  p.  214.  Kenyon,  Greek 
Papyri  in  the  British  Museum,  II,  19,  thinks  that  this  cannot  refer  to  a  census  because  the  term  by 
which  it  is  described  is  different,  but,  as  Grenfell  and  Hunt  remark,  the  simpler  term  in  the  papyri 
earlier  than  the  year  61  A.  D.,  indicates  that  we  are  nearer  the  beginning  of  the  institution  of  the 
census. 

*Ibid.,  p.  205;  cf.  p.  206. 

!  Ibid.,  p.  282. 


LIGHT  ON  THE  ENROLMENT  OF  QUIRINIUS  435 


taking  of  the  census  in  Judah  may  have  been  delayed  till  7  or  6  b.  c., 
on  account  of  Jewish  prejudices. 

5.  Document  Showing  that  People  Went  to  Their  Own  Towns 

for  Enrolment. 

In  connection  with  the  census  of  Quirinius  it  is  stated  in  Luke 
2:3:  “All  went  to  enroll  themselves,  every  one  to  his  own  city.” 
This  has  been  felt  by  many  scholars  to  be  an  improbable  statement, 
and  has  been  cited  as  an  evidence  of  the  unhistorical  character  of  the 
whole  story  of  the  census  in  Luke.  In  this  connection  part  of  a 
papyrus  discovered  in  Egypt,  which  is  dated  in  the  7th  year  of  the 
Emperor  Trajan,  103-104  a.  d.,  is  of  great  interest.  This  document 
contains  three  letters.  The  third  of  the  letters  is  the  one  which  re¬ 
lates  to  our  subject.  It  is  as  follows:1 

Gaiiis  Vibius,  chief  prefect  of  Egypt.  Because  of  the  approaching  census  it  is 
necessary  that  all  those  residing  for  any  cause  away  from  their  own  nomes, 
should  at  once  prepare  to  return  to  their  own  governments,  in  order  that  they 
may  complete  the  family  administration  of  the  enrolment,  and  that  the  tilled 
lands  may  retain  those  belonging  to  them.  Knowing  that  your  city  has  need  of 
provisions  from  the  country,  I  wish . (At  this  point  the  papyrus  be¬ 

comes  too  fragmentary  for  connected  translation.) 

It  is  perfectly  clear  that  in  Egypt  the  enrolment  was  done  on  the 
basis  of  kinship.  The  word  rendered  “family”  above  [auvij{h)]  means 
“kindred”  in  the  larger  sense.  The  phrase  rendered  “belonging 
to”  [them,  i.  e.,  the  tilled  lands]  also  means  “kindred.”  It  appears, 
then,  that  in  Egypt  the  enrolment  of  each  district  was  intended  to 
include  all  the  kinsmen  belonging  to  that  district,  and  that,  lest 
those  residing  elsewhere  should  forget  to  return  home  for  the  census, 
proclamations  were  issued  directing  them  to  do  so.  It  is  well  known 
that  in  many  respects  the  customs  of  administration  in  Syria  and 
Egypt  were  similar.  Luke’s  statement,  that  Joseph  went  up  from 
Nazareth  to  Bethlehem,  because  he  was  of  the  house  and  lineage  of 
David,  to  enroll  himself  with  Mary  (Luke  2  :  4,  5) ,  turns  out  to  be  in 
exact  accord  with  the  governmental  regulations  as  we  now  know 
them  from  the  papyri. 

6.  Inscription  Supposed  to  Refer  to  Quirinius. 

A  fragmentary  inscription  found  at  Rome  in  1828  is  thought  by 
Mommsen  and  others  to  prove  that  Quirinius  was  governor  of 
Syria  twice,  and  that  the  governorship  to  which  Josephus  refers 
(. Antiquities ,  XVII,  i,  1) ,  which  was  coincident  with  the  deposition  of 

1  Translated  from  Kenyon  and  Bell’s  Greek  Papyri  in  the  British  Museum,  Vol.  Ill,  1907,  p.  125 


436 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Archelaus  in  6  a.  d.,  was  his  second  appointment.  The  inscription 
as  filled  out  by  Mommsen  and  others  reads:1 

[P.  Sulpicius  Quirinius,  consul . ;  as  proconsul  obtained  Crete  and 

Cyrene  as  a  province . ;  as  legate  of  the  divine  Augustus,  obtaining 

Syria  and  Phoenicia  he  waged  war  with  the  tribe  of  Homonadenses  who  had  killed 
Amyntas  the  k]ing;  when  he  returned  into  the  dominion  of  the  Emperor  Caesar] 
Augustus  and  the  Roman  people,  the  senate  [decreed]  thanksgivings  [to  the 
immortal  gods]  on  account  of  the  two  successful  accomplishments]  and  tri¬ 
umphal  ornaments  to  him;  as  proconsul  he  obtained]  Asia  as  a  province;  as  the 
legate  of  the  divine  Augustus  he  [obtained]  again  Syria  and  Phoenicia. 


If  this  inscription  were  intact  its  evidence  would  be  decisive,  but 
unfortunately  it  is  only  a  fragment,  and  the  name  of  Quirinius  is 
just  that  which  has  to  be  supplied  from  other  inscriptions.  That  so 
eminent  a  scholar  as  Mommsen  thought  that  this  name  was  the  one 
which  once  began  the  inscription  is  of  weight,  but  it  does  not  com¬ 
pensate  for  the  loss  of  the  name. 

7.  Inscription  from  Asia  Minor  Referring  to  Quirinius.2 

The  following  inscription,  discovered  by  Prof.  Ramsay  and  Mr. 
J.  G.  C.  Anderson,  of  Oxford,  is  believed  by  Ramsay  to  prove  that 
Quirinius  was  governor  of  Syria  between  10  and  7  b.  c. 

To  Gaius  Caristanius 

(son  of  Gaius  of  the  Sergian  tribe)  Fronto* 

Caesianus  Juli[us], 

Chief  of  engineers,  pontifex, 

priest,  prefect  of  P.  Sulpicius  Quirinius  duumvir, 

prefect  of  M.  Servilius. 

To  him  first  of  all  men 

at  public  expense  by  decree  of  the  decuriones, 
a  statue  was  erected. 


This  inscription  was  found  at  Antioch,  a  fortified  colony  in 
southeastern  Phrygia  or  southern  Galatia,  in  the  year  1912.  The 
name  Caristanius  connects  its  erection  with  the  time  of  the  Hamo- 
nadian  war,  10-7  b.  c.  That  Quirinius  received  the  honor  of  an 
election  to  the  office  of  honorary  duumvir  of  the  colony  at  this  time, 
is  held  by  Ramsay  to  prove  that  he  had  been  sent  to  Syria  as  gover¬ 
nor,  and  had  been  military  commander  in  the  war  against  the 
Hamonades.  It  was  the  benefits  which  accrued  to  the  little  colony 
of  Antioch  from  his  victories  in  this  war,  which  led  to  the  election 

1  Translated  from  the  Corpus  Inscriptionum  Latinarum,  XIV,  No.  3613. 

2  Translated  after  Ramsay,  Expositor ,  series  8,  Vol.  IV,  1912,  p.  401.  For  Ramsay’s  opinions, 
see  the  article  of  which  the  inscription  forms  a  part. 


LIGHT  ON  THE  ENROLMENT  OF  QUIRINIUS  437 


and  the  erection  of  this  statue.  Ramsay,  accordingly,  holds  that 
this  inscription  proves  Quirinius  to  have  been  governor  of  Syria 
about  11-7  b.  c.,  and  this  confirms  the  statement  of  Luke  2:2,  that 
the  census  at  the  time  when  Jesus  w^as  born  was  the  first  enrol¬ 
ment,  when  Quirinius  was  governor  of  Syria. 

One  objection  to  this  theory  is  that  from  other  sources  (Josephus, 
Antiquities ,  XVI,  x,  8;  xi,  3),  it  appears  that  Sentius  Saturninus  wras 
governor  of  Syria  at  this  time,  i.  e.,  from  9-7  b.  c.,  just  at  the  time 
when,  according  to  the  papyri,  the  census  should  occur.  This  is 
supported  by  a  statement  of  Tertullian,  that  Jesus  was  born  when 
Saturninus  was  governor  of  Syria.  To  meet  this  objection,  Ramsay 
supposes  either  that  the  authority  of  Quirinius  and  of  Saturninus 
overlapped,  the  former  being  military  commander  and  the  latter 
civil  governor,  or  that  Quirinius  ruled  until  about  July  1st  of  the 
year  8,  the  census  year,  and  Saturninus  then  took  office.  These 
are,  however,  mere  possibilities.  We  have  not  yet  clear  information 
concerning  these  points. 

Later,  in  6  a.  d.,  Quirinius  was  sent  out  to  Syria  again  (see  Tacitus, 
Annales,  III,  48),  and  took  over  as  governor  of  Syria  the  kingdom  of 
Judah  on  the  deposition  of  Archelaus,  and  conducted  the  census 
there  of  6-7  A.  d.  (See  Josephus,  Antiquities,  XVIII,  i.)  Many 
scholars  have  held  that  Luke  confused  this  governorship  with  earlier 
events  and  was  accordingly  in  error  as  to  his  chronology  by  at  least 
ten  years,  but  the  archaeological  facts  here  collected  tend  to  cor¬ 
roborate  Luke’s  accuracy  on  this  point.  It  should  be  added  that 
Luke  knew  that  Quirinius  had  charge  of  the  census  in  Palestine  in 
6  a.  d.,  as  Josephus  states,  for  he  says:  “This  was  the  first  enrolment 
made  when  Quirinius  w’as  governor  of  Syria.” 

8.  Conclusions. 

It  should  in  all  candor  be  noted  just  what  archaeology  has  proved 
concerning  this  matter,  and  wdiat  points  are  still,  from  the  archae¬ 
ological  side,  outstanding.  It  has  proved  that  the  census  was  a 
periodic  occurrence  once  in  fourteen  years,  that  this  system  was  in 
operation  as  early  as  20  A.  d.,  and  that  it  was  customary  for  people 
to  go  to  their  ancestral  abodes  for  enrolment.  It  has  made  it  prob¬ 
able  that  the  census  system  was  established  by  Augustus,  and  that 
Quirinius  was  governor  of  Syria  twice,  though  these  last  two  points 
are  not  yet  fully  established  by  archaeological  evidence.  So  far  as 
the  new  material  goes,  however,  it  confirms  the  narrative  of  Luke. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  LIGHT  ON  THE  ACTS  AND  EPISTLES 

The  Politarchs  of  Thessalontca.  An  Altar  to  Unknown  Gods.  An  Inscrip¬ 
tion  from  Delphi  and  the  Date  of  Paul’s  Contact  with  Gallio.  Some  Epistles 
from  Egypt.  Inscriptions  Mentioning  Aretas,  King  of  Arabia. 

1.  The  Politarchs  of  Thessalonica. 

In  Acts  17:6  the  rulers  of  Thessalonica  are  called  in  the  Greek 
“politarchs.”  It  is  a  unique  term,  and  its  accuracy  had  been  called 
in  question  by  some  scholars.  Within  the  past  hundred  years  no 
less  than  nineteen  inscriptions  have  come  to  light  which  prove  its 
accuracy,  by  referring  to  the  rulers  of  Thessalonica  as  “politarchs.” 
One  of  the  most  important  of  these  is  from  an  arch  in  Thessalonica. 
It  runs  in  part  as  follows,  the  beginning  being  illegible:1 

In  the  time  of  the  Politarchs,  Sosipatros,  son  of  Cleopatra,  and  Lucius  Pontius 
Secundus  Publius  Flavius  Sabinus,  Demetrius,  son  of  Faustus,  Demetrius  of 
Nicopolis,  Zoilos,  son  of  Parmenio,  and  Meniscus  Gaius  Agilleius  Poteitus . 

Another  fragmentary  inscription  shows  that  the  rulers  of  the  city 
bore  this  title  as  early  as  the  time  of  Augustus.  It  is  in  part:2 

Bosa,  proconsul,  made  a  stone-quarry  for  the  temple  of  Csesar,  in  the  time  of 

the  priest  and  judge,  the  Emperor  Csesar,  the  divine  son  Augustus . , 

the  politarchs  remaining  faithful,  viz. : — Diogenes,  the  son  of  Kleon,  the .  . . . ,  etc. 

It  is  not  clear  from  the  inscriptions  whether  the  number  of  poli¬ 
tarchs  was  five  or  six. 

2.  An  Altar  to  Unknown  Gods. 

In  Acts  17  :  23  it  is  stated  that  Paul  saw  in  Athens  an  altar  with 
this  inscription:  TO  AN  UNKNOWN  GOD.  In  the  year  1909  an 
altar  was  discovered  in  the  sacred  precinct  and  temple  of  Demeter 
at  Pergamos  in  Asia  Minor,  the  home  of  one  of  the  seven  churches  of 
the  book  of  Revelation  (Rev.  2:12,  f .) ,  which  bore  a  mutilated  in- 

1  Translated  from  Burton’s  publication  in  the  American  Journal  of  Theology,  II,  600. 

1  Translated  from  ibid.,  p.  604. 

438 


LIGHT  ON  THE  ACTS  AND  EPISTLES 


439 


scription;  (see  Fig.  299).  This  inscription  in  the  judgment  of 
several  impartial  epigraphists  should  be  restored  as  follows:1 

To  unknown  gods, 

Capito, 

torch-bearer. 

This  is  not  only  a  confirmation  of  the  statement  of  Acts  17  :  23, 
but  of  Pausanias2  (second  century  a.  d.)  and  Philostratus3  (third 
century  a.  d.)  that  altars  to  unknown  gods  existed. 

3.  The  Date  of  Paul’s  Contact  with  Gallio. 

The  chronology  of  the  life  of  Paul  cannot  be  fully  determined 
from  the  Bible  itself.  Such  chronological  data  as  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  affords  help  us  only  to  a  relative  chronology.  Could  the 
year  of  one  of  the  dates  given  by  the  New  Testament  be  determined 
by  a  date  of  the  Roman  empire,  it  would  enable  scholars  to  fix 
with  approximate  certainty  the  other  dates.  Hitherto  the  endeavor 
to  do  this  has  centered  about  the  recall  of  Felix  from  Palestine  and 
the  coming  of  Festus  (Acts  24  :  27),  but  there  has  been  so  much  un¬ 
certainty  about  the  date  of  this  recall,  that  systems  of  chronology, 
differing  from  one  another  by  from  four  to  five  years,  have  been  con¬ 
structed.  A  fragmentary  inscription  has  come  to  light  from  Delphi, 
which  seems  to  give  us  the  desired  aid  for  our  Pauline  chronology 
in  that  it  fixes  the  date  of  the  coming  of  Gallio  to  Corinth  (Acts  18  : 
12).  This  inscription,  as  its  lacunae  are  supplied  by  Deissmann,  is 
as  follows: 

Tiberius  Claudius  Caesar  Augustus  Germanicus,  Pontifex  Maximus,  of 
tribunican  authority  for  the  12th  time,  imperator  the  26th  time,  father  of  the 
country,  consul  for  the  5th  time,  honorable,  greets  the  city  of  the  Delphians. 

Having  long  been  well  disposed  to  the  city  of  the  Delphians . I  have 

had  success.  I  have  observed  the  religious  ceremonies  of  the  Pythian  Apollo 

. now  it  is  said  also  of  the  citizens . as 

Lucius  Junius  Gallio,  my  friend,  and  the  proconsul  of  Achaia,  wrote . 

on  this  account  I  accede  to  you  still  to  have  the  first4 . 

At  this  point  the  inscription  is  too  broken  for  translation,  al¬ 
though  the  beginnings  of  several  lines  can  be  made  out.  The  im¬ 
portance  of  the  inscription  lies  (1)  in  the  fact  that  it  mentions 
Gallio  as  proconsul  of  Achaia,  and  (2)  in  the  reference  to  the  12th 
tribunican  year  and  the  26th  imperatorship  of  Claudius.  It  can 

1  Taken  from  Deissmann’s  St.  Paul,  p.  261,  f. 

2  Pausanias,  i,  1  :  4,  and  v,  14  :  8. 

3  Philostratus,  Vita  Apollonii,  vi,  3. 

4  Translated  from  Deissmann’s  St.  Paul,  pp.  246,  247. 


440 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


be  deduced  from  these,  in  comparison  with  other  inscriptions  of  his, 
that  this  letter  was  written  between  January  and  August  of  the  year 
52  A.  d.1  If  Gallio  was  then  in  office,  and  had  been  in  office  long 
enough  to  give  information  to  Claudius  of  material  importance  to 
the  purpose  of  the  emperor’s  letter  to  the  Delphians,  Gallio  must 
have  arrived  in  Corinth  not  later  than  the  year  51.  According  to 
Dio  Cassius,  Claudius  had  decreed  that  new  officials  should  start  for 
their  provinces  not  later  than  the  new  moon  of  the  month  of  June.2 
Gallio  must,  therefore,  have  arrived  in  Corinth  not  later  than  July. 

Paul’s  stay  in  Corinth  extended  over  eighteen  months  (Acts  18  : 
id,  and  the  narrative  in  Acts  implies  that  a  large  part  of  it  had 
passed  before  Gallio  went  there.  Paul  must,  then,  have  arrived  in 
Corinth  not  later  than  the  end  of  the  summer  of  the  year  50.  As 
the  journey  described  in  Acts  16  must  have  occupied  some  months, 
the  council  at  Jerusalem,  described  in  Acts  15,  cannot  have  taken 
place  later  than  the  year  49  A.  d.  In  Gal.  2  :  1  Paul  says  that  this 
visit  occurred  fourteen  years  after  the  visit  which  followed  his  re¬ 
turn  from  Damascus.  As  the  Jews  in  counting  time  usually 
reckoned  the  two  extremes  as  a  part  of  the  number,  even  if  a  part  of 
them  only  should  really  have  been  included,  the  visit  of  Paul  to 
Jerusalem,  mentioned  in  Gab  1  :  18  must  have  occurred  not  later 
than  36  A.  d.,  nor  earlier  than  35  A.  d.  As  this  visit  occurred  “three” 
years  after  his  conversion,  we  find,  if  we  make  similar  allowance  for 
the  possibilities  of  Jewish  reckoning,  that  his  conversion  occurred 
not  later  than  34  A.  d.,  and  possibly  as  early  as  31  A.  D.3 

4.  The  Epistles. 

The  Epistles  of  the  New  Testament,  especially  those  of  Paul,  are 
cast  in  the  form  of  ancient  letter-writing.  This  form  in  its  more 
stately  aspects  has  long  been  known  through  the  letters  of  Aristotle, 
Epicurus,  Cicero,  Seneca,  Pliny,  etc.,  but  the  papyri  discovered  in 
Egypt  afford  us  many  examples  of  the  more  familiar  and  affectionate 
style  of  informal  letter- writing,  and  frequently,  at  the  beginning, 
afford  parallels  to  expressions  which  are  found  in  the  introductions 
of  Paul’s  Epistles.  The  following  examples  will  illustrate  this: 

Isias  to  her  brother,  greeting:  If  you  are  well  and  other  things  happen  as  you 
wish,  it  would  be  in  accordance  with  my  constant  prayer  to  the  gods.  I  too  am 
in  good  health,  and  so  is  the  boy;  and  all  at  home  make  constant  remembrance  of 
you.  When  I  got  the  letter  through  Horus,  in  which  you  explain  that  you  are  in 

1  See  Deissmann’s  St.  Paul,  p.  248,  ff.  2  Dio  Cassius,  Ivii,  14,  5. 

3  The  most  reliable  chronologies  of  the  life  of  Christ  now  place  his  crucifixion  not  later  than  30 


LIGHT  ON  THE  ACTS  AND  EPISTLES 


441 


sanctuary  at  the  Serapeum  in  Memphis,  I  straightway  gave  thanks  to  the  gods 
for  your  being  in  good  health,  but  as  for  your  not  coming  to  us  when  the  evils 
that  threatened  you  there  have  passed  away,  I  am  disconsolate  because  such  a 
long  time  I  have  been  keeping  myself  and  the  child,  and  am  come  to  the  lowest 
point  on  account  of  the  price  of  bread,  and  I  did  think  that  now  you  were  coming 

1  should  find  a  little  relief,  but  you  seem  to  have  no  idea  of  coming  to  us,  nor  to 
have  an  eye  to  our  circumstances,  as  you  would  if  you  were  still  here.  We  are  in 
need  of  everything,  not  only  because  such  a  long  time  and  so  many  seasons  have 
passed  since  you  were  here,  but  because  you  have  not  sent  us  anything.  And 
besides  that,  Horus,  who  brought  your  letter,  tells  me  further  that  you  are  re¬ 
leased  from  sanctuary,  and  I  am  perfectly  miserable.  No,  indeed!  and  your 
mother,  too,  takes  it  very  hard,  and  you  will  do  well  to  come  for  her  sake  as  well 
as  ours  to  the  city,  unless  some  more  pressing  need  draws  you  elsewhere.  Fare¬ 
well,  then,  and  have  a  care  for  your  body  so  as  to  be  in  health.  Good-bye. 

Epephi  30th,  of  the  9th  year.1 

This  letter  was  written  in  the  year  172  b.  c.  “Brother”  in  it 
probably  means  husband.  The  husband  had  gone  on  a  religious 
mission  and  has  left  the  wife  without  support.  He  at  last  sent  her 
a  letter,  and  this  is  her  reply.  She  wishes  to  persuade  him  to  re¬ 
turn,  and  writes  with  great  tact.  What  she  says  about  remembering 
her  husband  in  her  prayers,  and  her  thanks  to  the  gods  for  his 
health,  reminds  one  of  the  language  of  Paul  in  1  Thess.  1  :  2;  3  :  9; 

2  Thess.  1  :  3,  11;  2  :  13;  1  Cor.  1  :  4;  2  Cor.  1  : 4-6;  Phil.  1  :  3,  9; 
Col.  1:3;  Philemon  4. 

Another  letter  which  illustrates  the  same  points  is  this : 

Ammonios  to  his  sister  Tachnumi,  much  greeting:  Before  all  things  I  pray  that 
you  may  be  in  health,  and  each  day  I  make  the  act  of  worship  for  you.  I  salute 
heartily  my  goodest  little  boy  Leo.  I  am  jolly  and  so  is  the  horse  and  Melas. 
Don’t  neglect  my  son.  I  salute  Senchris,  and  I  salute  your  mother.  I  likewise 

salute  Pachnumi  and  Pachnumi  junior.  I  salute . and  Amenothis.  Hurry 

up  about  the  boy  until  we  go  to  my  place.  If  I  come  to  the  place  and  see  the 
place,  I  will  send  for  you  and  you  shall  come  to  Pelusium,  and  I  will  come  to 
you  at  Pelusium.  I  salute  Steches,  the  son  of  Pancrates.  I  salute  Psemmouthis 
and  Plato.  If  your  brothers  dispute  with  you,  come  to  my  house  and  stay  there 
until  we  see  what  to  do.  Don’t  neglect  it.  Write  me  of  your  own  welfare  and 
of  my  boy’s.  Hurry  up  over  the  matter  of  the  farm.  I  wrote  this  letter  in 
Themuis  on  the  fifth  of  the  month  Phamenoth.  We  have  two  days  more,  and 
then  we  will  arrive  at  Pelusium.  Melas  greets  you  all  by  name.  I  salute 
Psenchnumi,  the  son  of  Psentermout.  I  pray  that  you  may  be  well  and  strong.2 

The  sentence  of  this  letter  which  follows  the  greeting  is  couched  in 
almost  the  same  language  as  3  John  2,  and  the  number  of  people 
saluted  in  it  and  the  manner  of  their  salutation  reminds  one  strongly 
of  Rom.  16  :  3-16. 

1  The  original  is  in  Berlin  and  the  publication  is  not  accessible  to  the  writer.  The  above  trans¬ 
lation  is  taken  from  that  of  J.  Rendel  Harris  in  the  Expositor,  5th  series,  Vol.  VIII,. p.  164. 

2  Translated  by  J.  Rendel  Harris,  ibid.,  p.  166. 


442 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BIBLE 


Clearly  the  New  Testament  Epistles  conform  in  their  affection¬ 
ate  expressions  to  the  forms  that  were  often  employed  by  other 
letter-writers  of  that  period  of  history. 

5.  Paul  and  Aretas,  King  of  Arabia. 

Paul  says:  “In  Damascus  the  governor  under  Aretas  the  king 
guarded  the  city  of  the  Damascenes  in  order  to  take  me.”1  Aretas 
is  called  by  Josephus  king  of  Arabia.  He  was  Haretat  IV,  King  of 
the  Nabathaean  Arabs.  These  Nabathaeans  were  found  in  Arabia 
by  the  Assyrian  King  Ashurbanipal  (668-626  b.  c.) ;  they  conquered 
Edom  about  400  b.  c.,  driving  the  Edomites  over  into  southern 
Judah;  they  helped  one  of  the  successors  of  Alexander  the  Great  at 
the  battle  of  Gaza  in  312  b.  c.,  and  founded  a  dynasty  of  kings  that 
lasted  until  overthrown  by  the  Roman  Emperor  Trajan  in  106  a.  d. 
Haretat  IV  belonged  to  this  line.  The  following  Aramaic  inscrip¬ 
tion,  dated  in  his  reign,  affords  monumental  confirmation  of  his 
existence: 

This  is  the  tomb  which  Halafu,  son  of  Kosnatan,  made  for  himself  and  for 
Shaidu,  his  son,  and  his  brothers,  whatever  males  are  born  from  this  Halifu, 
both  their  sons  and  descendants  by  right  of  inheritance  forever.  And  those  who 
may  be  buried  in  this  sepulcher  and  in  this  structure  are  this  Shaidu  and  Man- 
uath,  Kenushath,  and  Ribamath,  and  Umaiyath  and  Shalimath,  daughters 
of  this  Halifu.  Also  no  descendant  of  Shaidu  has  authority,  and  no  man  after 
him  of  their  sons  or  descendants,  to  sell  this  sepulcher,  or  to  inscribe  an  epitaph 
or  an  emblem  for  anyone,  except  for  the  wife  of  one  of  them,  or  for  his  daughters, 
or  kinsman,  or  relative  by  marriage  he  may  inscribe  the  tomb.  If  any  one  shall 
do  contrary  to  this,  then  the  fine  of  Dushara,  the  god,  our  lord,  shall  be  imposed 
upon  him  to  the  extent  of  five  hundred  silver  shekels  of  Haretat,  and  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  this  inscription  shall  be  deposited  in  the  temple  of  Kaisha.  Month 
Nisan,  year  fortieth  of  Haretat,  King  of  the  Nabathaeans,  who  loves  his  people. 
Rauma  and  Abdobodat,  stone-cutters.2 

As  Haretat  ruled  from  9  B.  c.  to  40  A.  d.,  this  inscription  was 
written  in  31  a.  d.,  just  a  few  years  before  Paul  escaped  from  the 
officers  of  Haretat  at  Damascus.  There  are  many  other  inscrip¬ 
tions  dated  in  the  reign  of  this  king. 

Another  reads  as  follows: 

This  is  the  sepulcher  and  two  monuments  over  it,  which  Abdobodat,  the 
general,  made  for  Aitebel,  the  general,  his  father,  and  for  Aitebel,  the  commander 
of  the  two  camps  which  are  in  Luhitu  and  Abarta,  the  son  of  Abdobodat.  This 
is  in  the  district  of  their  command,  which  they  exercised  in  the  two  places  for 
thirty-six  years  in  th,e  reign  of  Haretat,  King  of  the  Nabathaeans,  who  loves  his 
people.  The  above-mentioned  (monument)  was  cpnstructed  in  the  forty-sixth 
year  of  his  reign.3 

12  Cor.  11  :  32. 

2  Translated  from  the  Corpus  Inscriptionum  Semilicarunt,  Pars  II,  Tom.  I,  Fasc.  ii,  No.  209. 

3  Ibid.,  Pars  II,  Tom.  I,  Fasc.  ii,  No.  196. 


LIGHT  ON  THE  ACTS  AND  EPISTLES 


443 


The  forty-sixth  year  of  Haretat  was  the  year  37  A.  d.  The 
monument  here  translated  was  found  at  Medeba  east  of  the 
Jordan  (see  Num.  21  :  30;  Josh.  13  :  9),  and  the  two  places  men¬ 
tioned  in  it  are  believed  to  be  Nabathaean  names  for  Medeba  and 
Rabbah  Ammon  (2  Sam.  11:1,  etc.).  It  is  evidence  that  Haretat 
had  held  this  territory  for  a  long  time.  Paul’s  escape  from  Damas¬ 
cus  (2  Cor.  11  :  32)  occurred  between  the  date  of  the  preceding  in¬ 
scription  and  this  one. 


APPENDIX 

(Appearing  first  in  Second  Edition.) 

I 

Addition  to  Part  I,  Chapter  III,  §2,  (3),  p.  70. 

The  discoveries  at  Carchemish  included  Hittite  inscriptions, 
one  of  which  is  said  to  be  longer  than  any  Hittite  writing  yet 
discovered.  A  number  of  stone  deities  were  also  found,  one  of 
which  is  a  bearded  god  of  the  eighth  century  b.  c.  seated  on  a  heavy 
base  supported  by  two  lions.  Three  large  gateways  were  found. 
On  the  inside  of  the  court  of  one  of  these  were  dadoes  from  five  to 
six  feet  high,  “with  sculptured  slabs  of  alternating  black  diorite 
and  white  limestone  adorned  with  carved  figures  of  bulls,  horses, 
and  chariots.”  The  acropolis  was  surmounted  by  the  ruins  of  a 
palace  of  King  Sargon  of  Assyria,  who  conquered  Carchemish,  and 
by  the  ruins  of  a  Roman  palace.  An  avenue  of  broad  steps,  more 
than  a  hundred  feet  long,  led  up  to  these. 

II 

Addition  to  Part  I,  Chapter  III,  §3,  to  be  read  after  (7)  on  p.  74. 

(8)  Hrozny,  a  Hungarian  scholar,  published  in  the  Mitteilungen 
der  deutschen  Orient-Gesellschaft  zu  Berlin ,  No.  56  (December, 
1915),  a  resume  of  a  new  study  of  Hittite  decipherment.  This  was 
followed  in  1917  by  the  publication  of  a  book  on  the  Language  of 
the  Hittites,  and  in  1919  by  a  book  on  Hittite  Cuneiform  Texts 
from  Boghazkoi.1  These  studies  are  based  on  copies  of  cuneiform 
tablets  at  Constantinople  made  by  Professor  Hrozny  and  Dr. 
Figulla  before  the  war.  As  the  publication  of  the  cuneiform  texts 
has  not  yet  reached  this  country,  one  cannot  yet  fully  estimate 
the  value  of  the  views  set  forth.  Hrozny  concludes  that  Hittite 
is  not  only  an  Indo-European  language,  but  that  it  also  belongs  to 
the  western  half  of  the  Indo-European  family.  In  other  words,  he 
finds  it  more  closely  related  to  Greek,  Latin,  Keltic,  and  the 
Teutonic  tongues  than  to  the  Slavonic,  Lithuanian,  Armenian, 

1  Die  Sprache  der  Htthiter,  Leipsig,  and  Hethitische  Keilschrifttexte  aus  Boghazkoi,  Leipsig. 

445 


446 


APPENDIX 


and  Persian  languages,  or  to  Sanscrit  and  its  daughters.  Accord¬ 
ing  to  Hrozny,  then,  the  Hittites  came  from  western  Europe,  or 
the  center  from  which  the  western  European  peoples  radiated. 
He  thinks  they  crossed  into  Asia  by  way  of  the  Bosphorus.  He 
supports  his  contention  by  some  most  interesting  philological 
analogies.  The  Mitanni,  on  the  other  hand,  belonged,  he  thinks, 
to  the  eastern  half  of  the  Indo-European  family.  They  were 
closely  related  to  the  Slavs,  Lithuanians,  Armenians,  Persians, 
etc.  The  indications  seem  to  be  that  they  entered  Asia  by  way 
of  the  Caucasus.  We  await  further  evidence  with  great  interest. 

III 

Addition  to  Part  I,  Chapter  IV,  §9,  p.  102. 

Professor  George  L.  Robinson,  who  was  in  Jerusalem  in  the 
spring  of  1914  as  Director  of  the  American  School,  has  published  in 
the  American  Journal  of  Archceology ,  Vol.  XXI,  p.  84  (January- 
March,  1917),  a  brief  statement  of  the  discoveries  on  Ophel  and 
at  Balata.  He  mentions  the  finding  on  Ophel  of  a  tower  with 
rock-cut  foundations,  certain  cave-tombs  with  oval  roofs,  a  cis¬ 
tern  with  Roman  baths,  an  inn,  a  Greek  inscription  (which  tells 
of  a  synagogue),  and  an  underground,  rock-cut  aqueduct,  running 
parallel  to  and  probably  older  than  that  of  Hezekiah,  which  con¬ 
ducts  the  water  of  Gihon  to  the  Pool  of  Siloam. 

At  Balata  the  foundations  of  old  Hebrew  houses  were  discovered, 
together  with  a  portion  of  the  Amorite  city-wall,  which  was  thick 
and  oblique.  The  ruins  of  a  palace  were  also  found  and  a  great 
triple  gateway,  the  longest  yet  excavated  in  Palestine.  This  gate 
was  on  the  west  of  the  city.  Near  the  tell  an  Egyptian  sar¬ 
cophagus  was  found,  which  some  have  thought  might  be  the  coffin 
of  Joseph. 

IV 

A  NEW  BABYLONIAN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  CREATION 

OF  MAN 

To  supplement  Part  II,  Chapter  II,  p.  257. 

Since  the  first  edition  of  this  book  went  to  press,  the  writer  has 
had  the  good  fortune  to  discover  among  the  tablets  from  Nippur 
in  the  University  Museum  in  Philadelphia  a  new  Babylonian 
account  of  the  creation  of  man.  The  text  is  written  in  the  Sumer- 


APPENDIX 


447 


ian  language,  and  the  script  is  of  the  mixed  cursive  variety  that 
was  employed  during  the  time  of  the  first  dynasty  of  Babylon 
and  the  Kassite  dynasty.  The  text  is  accordingly  older  than 
1200  b.  c.,  and  may  have  been  written  before  2000  b.  c.  It  reads 
as  follows: 

1.  The  mountain  of  heaven  and  earth 

2.  The  assembly  of  heaven,  the  great  gods,  entered,  as  many  as  there  were. 

3.  A  tree  of  Ezinu  had  not  been  born,  had  not  become  green, 

4.  Land  and  water  Takku  had  not  created. 

5.  For  Takku  a  temple-platform  had  not  been  filled  in; 

6.  A  ewe  (?)  had  not  bleated  (?),  a  lamb  had  not  been  dropped, 

7.  An  ass  there  was  not  to  irrigate  the  seed. 

8.  A  well  and  a  canal  (?)  had  not  been  dug; 

9.  Horses  and  cattle  had  not  been  brought  forth, 

10.  The  name  of  Ezinu,  spirit  of  sprout  and  herd, 

11.  The  Annunaki,  the  great  gods,  had  not  known. 

12.  There  was  no  ses-grain  of  thirty-fold; 

13.  There  was  no  ses-grain  of  fifty-fold; 

14.  Small  grain,  mountain-grain,  and  cattle-fodder  there  were  not; 

15.  A  possession  and  houses  there  were  not; 

16.  Takku  had  not  been  brought  forth,  a  shrine  not  lifted  up 

17.  Together  with  the  lady  Ninki  the  lord  had  not  brought  forth  men. 

18.  Shamash  as  leader  came,  unto  her  desire  came  forth; 

19.  Mankind  he  planned;  many  men  were  brought  forth. 

20.  Food  and  sleep  he  planned  for  them; 

21.  Clothing  and  dwellings  he  did  not  plan  for  them. 

22.  The  people  with  rushes  and  rope  came, 

23.  By  making  a  dwelling  a  kindred  was  formed. 

24.  To  the  gardens . they  gave  drink. 

25.  On  that  day  they  were  green 

26.  Their  plants . 


2.  Father  Enlil  (?) . 

3 . standing  grain . . . 

4.  For  mankind . 

5 . creation  of  Enki . 

6.  Father  Enlil . 

7.  Duazagga  is  surrounded,  O  god, 

8.  Duazagga,  the  brilliant,  I  will  guard  for  thee,  O  god 

9.  Enki  and  Enlil  cast  a  spell . 

10.  A  flock  and  Ezinu  from  Duazagga  they  cast  forth, 

11.  The  flock  in  a  fold  they  enclosed. 

12.  His  plants  as  food  for  the  mother  they  created. 

13.  Ezinu  rained  on  the  field  for  them; 

14.  The  moist  (?)  wind  and  the  fiery  storm-cloud  he  created  for  them. 


448 


APPENDIX 


15.  The  flock  in  the  fold  abode; 

16.  For  the  shepherd  of  the  fold  joy  was  abundant. 

17.  Ezinu  as  tall  vegetation  stood; 

18.  The  bright  land  was  green;  it  afforded  full  joy. 

19.  From  their  field  a  leader  arose; 

20.  The  child  from  heaven  came  to  them; 

21.  The  flock  of  Ezinu  he  made  to  multiply  for  them; 

22.  The  whole  he  raised  up,  he  appointed  for  them; 

23.  The  reed-country  he  planted,  he  appointed  for  them; 

24.  The  voice  of  their  god  uttered  just  decisions  for  them, 

25.  A  dwelling-place  was  their  land;  food  increased  for  the  people; 

26.  The  prosperity  of  their  land  brought  them  danger; 

27.  They  made  bricks  of  the  clay  of  the  land  for  its  protection. 

28.  The  lord  caused  them  to  be,  and  they  came  into  existence. 

29.  Companions  calling  them,  a  man  with  his  wife  he  made  them  dwell. 

30.  By  night,  by  day,  they  are  set  as  helpers. 

A  colophon  states  that  the  tablet  contained  sixty  lines.  Only 
five  lines  are  entirely  broken  away. 

Ezinu  was  a  god  of  vegetation.  Takku,  who  had  not  created 
the  land,  was  a  patron  of  agriculture.  The  story  begins,  there¬ 
fore,  before  the  beginning  of  vegetation  and  before  the  creation  of 
dykes  in  Babylonia.  As  in  the  text  translated  in  Chapter  VIII, 
Part  II,  considerable  space  is  occupied  with  the  things  that  were 
non-existent  when  the  process  of  creation  began.  The  last  sen¬ 
tence  of  this  section  asserts  that  the  lord  and  Ninki  had  not 
brought  forth  men.  Ninki  is  the  goddess  who  in  the  creation 
story  translated  in  Chapter  VII,  Part  II,  appears  as  the  mother 
of  mankind  (see  p.  279).  The  new  tablet  then  states  that  Ug, 
the  lion  god,  identified  by  a  later  text  with  Shamash,  the  sun 
god,  first  came  forth  to  plan.  “Mankind  he  planned;  many 
men  were  brought  forth.”  The  word  rendered  “planned”  has 
also  the  meaning  “know,”  as  in  Gen.  4:1,  where  Adam  is  said  to 
have  known  Eve.  It  seems  probable,  therefore,  that  the  text 
indicates  that  men  were  born  from  a  natural  union  of  Ug  and  Ninki, 
just  as  it  is  said  on  p.  284,  in  another  text  from  Nippur,  that 
irrigation  resulted  from  a  similar  union  of  the  sun-god  and  Ninki. 
This  shows  that  among  the  Sumerians  there  were  different  con¬ 
ceptions  of  the  way  mankind  was  made.  A  Babylonian  story  of 
the  making  of  a  man  which  is  much  more  like  the  narrative  of  Gen. 
2  than  that  contained  in  this  new  tablet  is  given  on  p.  256. 

After  telling  how  men  were  brought  forth,  and  how  they  were 
left  to  provide  houses  and  clothing  for  themselves,  the  new  tablet 
tells  how  reed  huts,  similar  to  those  still  seen  in  the  Babylonian 


APPENDIX 


449 


marshes,  were  made.  Clans  were  formed  and  irrigation  begun. 
Here  the  obverse  becomes  too  broken  for  connected  translation. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  reverse  several  lines  are  fragmentary. 
From  what  can  be  made  out,  some  god  seems  to  be  addressing 
Enlil.  Reference  is  made  to  Duazagga,  the  heavenly  abyss, 
which  someone  volunteers  to  guard.  Enki  and  Enlil  then  cast  a 
spell.  Spells  were  cast  by  the  utterance  of  words.  A  flock  and 
the  god  of  vegetation  were  thereupon  cast  forth  from  Duazagga. 
The  power  of  the  uttered  word,  as  Babylonians  conceived  it,  is 
exhibited  in  the  result  that  followed,  as  the  Hebrew  conception  of 
the  power  of  God’s  word  is  exhibited  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis. 
The  divine  word  was  to  the  Babylonian  simply  magic,  similar  to 
the  magic  which  men  might  practise;  to  the  Hebrews  it  was  potent 
in  creation  because  it  was  God’s  word  and  God  is  exalted  far, 
far  above  men. 

The  child  sent  down  from  heaven  to  teach  them  how  to  use  the 
new  gifts  was  probably  Takku.  Then  abundance  of  food  in  Baby¬ 
lonia  caused  invasions  by  hungry  neighbors,  so  bricks  were  manu¬ 
factured  and  fortifications  built.  To  such  depredations  from  the 
less  fertile  lands  on  all  sides  of  Babylonia  the  country  has  been  per¬ 
ennially  exposed,  and  it  is  interesting  to  find  the  fact  recognized  in 
so  early  a  document  as  a  cause  of  the  invention  of  one  of  the  com¬ 
monest  articles  of  Babylonian  manufacture. 

We  then  find  the  statement: 

“The  lord  caused  them  to  be  and  they  came  into  existence,” 
the  form  of  which  reminds  one  of  the  statement  in  Gen.  1  : 3, 
“God  said,  Let  there  be  light,  and  there  was  light.” 

The  next  line:  “Companions  calling  them,  a  man  with  his  wife  he 
made  them  dwell,”  recalls  Gen.  2:18  and  24.  The  last  line  of  the 
text  is  the  Babylonian  equivalent  of  the  last  clause  of  Gen.  2  :  24. 

This  text  as  a  whole  describes  the  creation  of  man  and  sketches 
the  vicissitudes  of  pastoral  life.  It  attributes  the  origin  of  every¬ 
thing  to  the  gods. 

V 

Addition  to  Part  II,  Chapter  XI,  p.  309. 

The  entrance  of  Abraham  and  later  of  Jacob  and  his  sons  into 
Egypt  in  time  of  famine  (Gen.  12  :  10  and  47  :  5-12)  is  strikingly 
illuminated  by  the  following  reports  of  officials  stationed  at  for¬ 
tresses  on  the  Egyptian  border. 

The  first  of  these  texts  was  inscribed  in  the  tomb  of  Harmhab, 


450 


APPENDIX 


the  founder  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty,  though  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  it  was  written  during  the  reign  of  Ameitophis  IV  of 
the  eighteenth  dynasty  (1375-1357  b.  c.).  Some  of  the  lines  are 
broken.  It  reads  as  follows: 

.......  Asiatics ;  others  have  been  placed  in  their  abodes . they  have 

been  destroyed,  and  their  town  laid  waste,  and  fire  has  been  thrown . 

[they  have  come  to  entreat]  the  Great  in  Strength  to  send  his  mighty  sword 
before .  Their  countries  are  starving,  they  live  like  goats  of  the  moun¬ 
tain,  [their]  children . saying:  “A  few  of  the  Asiatics,  who  knew  not  how 

they  should  live,  have  come  [begg]ing  [a  home  in  the  domain]  of  Pharaoh . , 

after  the  manner  of  your  fathers’  fathers  since  the  beginning  under, . 

Now,  the  Pharaoh.  . .  .gives  them  into  your  hand,  to  protect  their  borders.”1 

The  second  text  comes  from  the  reign  of  Merneptah  (1225— 
1215  b.  c.).  It  reads  as  follows: 

Another  matter  for  the  satisfaction  of  my  lord’s  heart  [to  wit]:  We  have 
finished  passing  the  tribes  of  the  Shasu  of  Edom  through  the  fortress  of  Mernep- 
tah-Hotephirma .  .  .  in  Theku,  to  the  pools  of  Pithom,  of  Merneptah-Hote- 
phirma  in  Theku,  in  order  to  sustain  them  and  their  herds  in  the  domain  of 

Pharaoh.  .  .,  the  good  sun  of  every  land .  I  have  caused  them  to  be 

brought . other  names  of  days  when  the  fortress  of  Merneptah-Hote- 

phirma  may  be  passed, .... 2 

These  texts  make  it  evident  that  at  different  periods  of  Egyp¬ 
tian  history  Asiatic  tribes  in  time  of  famine  and  stress  sought  and 
found  refuge  in  Egypt  as  the  Israelites  are  said  to  have  done. 

VI 

ALLEGED  TRACES  OF  THE  “TEN  TRIBES”  IN  EXILE 

To  supplement  Part  II,  Chapter  XVII,  at  the  end  of  §  10, 
p.  372. 

In  2  Kings  15  :  29  it  is  said  that  Tiglath-pileser  [IV]  captured 
certain  cities  in  Galilee,  and  carried  their  inhabitants  captive  to 
Assyria.  In  2  Kings  17  : 6  it  is  said  that  when  Samaria  was  de¬ 
stroyed  by  the  Assyrian  king  [Sargon,  in  722  b.  c.],  Israelites  were 
carried  captive  to  Halah  and  Gozan,  which  were  situated  on  the 
Khabur  River  in  Mesopotamia. 

Two  groups  of  cuneiform  tablets,  one  in  the  museum  at  Berlin, 
the  other  in  the  British  Museum,  are  thought  to  confirm  these 
statements  by  the  evidence  they  give  that  Hebrews  who  rever- 

1  Taken  from  Breasted,  Ancient  Records,  Egypt,  III,  p.  7. 

2  Taken  from  Breasted,  ibid.,  p.  273. 


APPENDIX 


451 


enced  Jehovah  were  living  in  that  region.1  The  evidence  con¬ 
sists  chiefly  of  a  divine  name  A-u,  employed  as  a  component  part 
of  proper  names  just  as  Jo-  and  Jeho-,  abbreviations  of  the  name  of 
Jehovah,  are  employed  in  Hebrew  proper  names  in  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment.  Indeed,  A-u  is  the  form  that  Jo-  or  Jeho-  would  take,  if 
expressed  in  Assyrian  characters. 

The  names  in  question  occur  in  a  series  of  documents  which 
record  the  transfer  of  slaves.  If  the  men  in  question  were  Hebrews 
they  would  seem  to  have  been  interested  in  the  business  of  buy¬ 
ing  and  selling  slaves.  The  documents  are  much  alike.  It  will 
sufflce  to  translate  one  of  them: 

1.  Seal  of  Atarkhasis, 

2.  son  of  Aushezib, 

3.  the  Kannuean, 

4.  owner  of  the  slave-girl.  A  transfer 

5.  of  Kabili,  his  slave-girl  he 

6.  has  made,  and  Nabushallimshunu 

7.  for  the  price  of  11  manas  of  silver 

8.  has  taken  her.  The  money  in  full 

9.  is  paid.  That  slave 

10.  is  purchased  and  delivered.  Whoever  in  the  future 

11.  at  any  time  shall  rise  up  and 

12.  lay  claim,  whether  Atarkhasis 

13.  or  his  sons, — whoever  against 

14.  Nabushallimshunu  or  his  sons 

15.  legal  process 

16.  shall  begin,  10  manas  of  silver 

17.  shall  pay.  Against  an  attack  of  rheumatism  for  100  days 

18.  and  legal  claim  for  all  time  (he  is  guaranteed). 

19.  Month  Airu,  17th  day, 

20.  eponym  of  Ashurrimani,  rabshekeh. 

21.  In  the  presence  of  Padi, 

22.  In  the  presence  of  Khani, 

23.  In  the  presence  of  Ashurnadinakhi, 

24.  In  the  presence  of  Tubusu, 

25.  In  the  presence  of  Belbelshaduni, 

26.  In  the  presence  of  Ilumia. 

27.  In  the  presence  of  Ashurikhtamusur 

28.  In  the  presence  of  Bariku, 

29.  In  the  presence  of  Kennusharruni. 

The  significant  name  here  is  Aushezib,  meaning,  “Au  saves.” 
If  A u  is  a  translation  of  Jeho-,  the  name,  in  its  entirety,  would  be  a 
translation  of  one  of  the  Hebrew  forms  of  the  name  Joshua. 

1  See  S.  Schiffer,  Kcilschriftliche  Spuren  in  der  zweiten  Halfte  des  8len  J  ahrhunderts  von  den 
Assyrern  nach  Mesopotamien  deportierten  Samarier,  Berlin,  1907. 

The  text  of  the  Berlin  tablets  was  published  by  Ungnad  in  Vorderasiatische  Schriftdenkmdler,  I, 
Leipzig,  1907,  Nos.  84-94,  101,  104.  Those  in  the  British  Museum,  by  Johns,  in  Assyrian  Deeds 
and  Documents,  I,  Cambridge,  1898,  Nos.  22,  69,  73,  74,  98,  153,  154,  170,  229,  234,  245,  312. 


452 


APPENDIX 


Other  names,  into  which  the  name  of  the  god  Au  enters,  appear 
sometimes  in  the  body  of  a  contract  and  sometimes  among  the 
witnesses.  They  are  llA-u-salim,  “the  god  Au  gives  peace”; 
A-u-iddina,  “Au  gives,”  equivalent  to  the  Hebrew  Jonathan; 
A-u-akhiddin ,  “Au  has  increased  the  brothers”;  A-u-daninani, 
“Au  is  our  mighty-one”;  A-u-e-ballitani,  “0  Au,  make  us  live”; 
ll  A-u-dan{?)-ilani,  “Au  is  judge  of  the  gods”;  A-u-sabi,  “Au 
satisfies.”1 

The  tablets  were  written  at  Kannu,  the  Canneh  of  Ezek. 
27  :  23,  which  was  near  Haran  in  Mesopotamia.  One  text  states 
that  if  the  seller  of  the  slave  ever  brings  legal  action,  he  shall  pay 
ten  silver  manas  and  one  gold  mana  “at  the  sanctuary  of  the  god 
A-u ,  who  dwells  in  Kannu.”  If  the  god  A-u  be  really  the  Hebrew 
Jehovah,  the  captives  from  Samaria  and  Galilee  had  built  for  him 
a  temple  in  Kannu,  as  the  Jews  at  Elephantine  afterward  did  on 
the  island  in  the  Nile.  (See  p.  387,  f.) 

The  documents  in  which  these  names  occur  appear  to  be  dated 
between  666  and  606  b.  c.  They  are  dated  according  to  the 
Assyrian  method  of  dating,  which  shows  that  they  were  written 
under  the  Assyrian  monarchy,  but  the  eponyms  in  which  they  are 
dated  are  not  found  in  the  extant  portions  of  the  Assyrian  Eponym- 
list.  They  were  therefore  written  after  the  year  666.2  This  fixes 
the  dates  of  these  documents  in  the  seventh  century — the  century 
after  Tiglath-pileser  IV  and  Sargon  transported  to  this  region 
parts  of  the  ten  “lost  tribes,”  and,  if  A-u  really  is  a  form  of  the 
name  Jehovah,  these  tablets  afford  us  a  little  glimpse  of  some  of 
these  Hebrews  in  exile. 


VII 

THE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NAME  “ISRAEL”  IN 

BABYLONIA 

Shortly  before  the  war  a  Babylonian  seal  cylinder  was  purchased 
of  a  peasant  in  a  village  near  Mosul  and  taken  to  Paris.3  It  bears 
the  name,  Israel,  son  of  Rishzuni.  (See  Fig.  302.)  The  form  of  the 
written  characters,  as  well  as  the  pictures  carved  on  the  seal,  mark 

1  Vorderasialische  Schriftdenkmaler,  I,  No.  88,  15. 

2  See  Rogers,  Cuneiform  Parallels  to  the  Old  Testament ,  New  York,  1912,  p.  226. 

3  Published  by  Scheil  in  the  Revue  d’assyriologie,  Vol.  XIII,  pp.  5  ff. 


APPENDIX 


453 


it  as  the  work  of  the  time  of  the  dynasty  of  Agade,  which  ruled 
Babylonia  from  about  2800  b.  c.  to  2600  b.  c.  The  horns  of  the 
bull  with  which  the  hero  at  the  left  is  fighting  are  identical  in  appear¬ 
ance  with  the  horns  of  the  bulls  on  the  seal  of  Shargalisharri,  one 
of  the  kings  of  this  dynasty.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  object 
belongs  to  this  time,  as  this  type  of  creature  became  extinct  and  is 
not  pictured  in  subsequent  art. 

It  is  a  matter  of  almost  thrilling  interest  to  the  student  of  the 
Bible  to  find  the  name  Israel  borne  by  a  man  who  lived  before  2600 
B.  c.  Before  this  discovery  the  only  occurrence  of  the  name  Israel 
outside  the  Bible  was  in  the  inscription  of  Merneptah,  king  of 
Egypt?  where  it  designated  the  nation  Israel  or  a  part  of  it.1  On 
this  seal  it  is  a  personal  name.  Its  form  is  Amorite.  That  is  what 
we  might  expect,  since  Professor  Clay  has  proven  that  the  dynasty 
of  Agade  was  of  Amorite  origin. 

This  discovery  shows  us  that,  like  the  names  Abraham,  Jacobel 
(or  Jacob),  and  Josephel,2  Israel  was  also  a  name  borne  by  an 
Amorite.  This  seal,  which  tells  us  of  the  name  Israel,  is  about  five 
hundred  years  earlier  than  the  documents  which  record  the  other 
three  patriarchal  names. 


VIII 

INSCRIPTION  ON  THE  FLOOR  OF  A  SYNAGOGUE 

At  Ain  Duk,  about  two  miles  northwest  of  the  site  of  ancient 
Jericho,  the  mosaic  floor  of  an  ancient  Jewish  sanctuary  or  synagogue 
was  accidentally  laid  bare  during  the  war  by  the  bursting  of  a  shell. 
Worked  into  the  mosaic  there  was  an  inscription  (see  Fig.  303) 
which  reads  as  follows: 

Honored  be  the  memory  of  Benjamin,  the  Patron,  son  of  Joseph; 

honored  be  the  memory  of  every  one  who  takes  stout  hold 

and  gives  or . in  this  holy  place,  whether  gold  or  silver  or  any 

valuable.  Be  made  sure  (?)  their  share  in  this  holy  place.  Amen.” 

There  is  nothing  connected  with  the  inscription  from  which  one 
can  give  it  a  definite  date.  Clermont-Ganneau,  a  distinguished 
French  scholar,  thinks  the  floor  was  constructed  in  the  fourth  or 
fifth  century,  A.  D.  Professor  Vincent,  of  the  Dominican  Ecole 


1  See  above,  p.  311. 

2  See  above,  pp.  290  ff.,  299,  and  300. 


454 


APPENDIX 


Biblique  in  Jerusalem,  who  has  visited  Ain  Duk  and  examined  the 
mosaic,  thinks  it  dates  from  the  reign  of  Herod  the  Great.  If  this 
be  so,  it  is  probably  the  floor  of  a  synagogue  that  was  in  existence 
in  the  time  of  Christ. 

Ain  Duk,  where  the  mosaic  was  found,  is  the  ancient  Dok,  where 
Simon,  the  last  of  the  Maccabees,  was  slain  by  his  son-in-law 
Ptolemy  (1  Macc.  16  :  11).  It  was  an  important  town  during  this 
period. 

The  inscription  affords  interesting  proof  of  the  honor  in  which  the 
Jews  held  men  who  gave  money  to  their  places  of  worship.  It  thus 
throws  light  on  the  words  addressed  to  Jesus  by  Jews  of  Capernaum 
concerning  a  certain  Roman  centurion:  “He  is  worthy  that  thou 
shouldest  do  this  for  him;  for  he  loveth  our  nation,  and  himself 
built  us  our  synagogue.”  (Luke  7  :  4,  5.) 


IX 

RECENTLY  DISCOVERED  PORTIONS  OF  THE  EPIC  OF 
CREATION  WHICH  CIRCULATED  IN  BABYLONIA 
AND  ASSYRIA  IN  THE  SEVENTH  CENTURY  BEFORE 
CHRIST. 

During  the  German  excavations  at  the  city  of  Ashur  tablets 
containing  large  portions  of  the  Epic  of  Creation  translated# on  pp. 
235  ff.  were  discovered.  These  texts  were  published  in  Germany 
in  1917  and  1919,  but  owing  to  the  war  they  did  not  reach  the 
present  writer  till  May,  1920,  while  this  third  edition  was  passing 
through  the  press.  Of  especial  interest  is  the  longer  account  in 
Tablet  I  of  the  origin  of  the  plot,  fomented  by  Kingu  and  Tiamat, 
to  destroy  the  gods,  and  the  much  fuller  text  of  the  creation  of  man 
in  Tablet  VI.  These  tablets  are  some  centuries  older  than  those 
from  the  library  of  Ashurbanipal  and  in  some  respects  reflect  an 
earlier  form  of  the  myth.  The  texts,  which  are  copied  from  three 
different  fragments  of  Tablets,  are  as  follows: 

Tablet  I 


1.  Time  was  when  above 

2.  Below  to  the  earth 

3.  Then  the  primeval  Abyss 


heaven  was  not  named 
no  name  was  given, 
their  begetter, 


APPENDIX 


455 


4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 
9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

17. 

18. 

19. 

20. 
21. 
22. 


The  Roaring  Sea 
Their  waters 

No  field  had  been  formed, 
When  no  gods 
No  name  was  formed 
Gods  were  created 
Lakhmua  nd  Lakhamu 
Together  they  became  great, 
Anshar  and  Kishar  were  born; 
The  days  were  prolonged, 


who  bore  them,1 — 
together  were  mingled 
no  marsh-land  seen 
had  ever  been  honored, 
no  destiny  fixed, 
in  their  midst2 
their  associates  were  called, 
grew  tall. 

they  were  greater  than  they 

years  passed; 

was  a  rival  of  his  fathers. 


Anu  their  son 

Anshar  made  Anu,  his  firstborn,  like  himself, 

And  Anu  begat  in  his  likeness  Nudimmud, 

Clever,  wise,  joyful,  who  grasped  deep  things, 

Stronger  far  than  Anshar,  the  father  who  begat  him, 

Not  a  rival  has  he  among  the  gods  his  fathers. 

There  he  stood  a  companion  of  the  gods. 

Tiamat  cried  to  her  guards,  she  crouched  down, 

Troubled  was  the  body  of  Tiamat. 


At  this  point  the  tablet  is  broken.  Another  tablet  discovered  at 
Ashur  contains  some  more  of  the  text,  but  between  the  two  thirty 
lines  are  lost.  When  a  somewhat  connected  narrative  is  once  more 
obtained,  we  are  furnished  with  a  text  which  fills  the  break  in 
Tablet  I  after  line  52.  See  above,  p.  236.  It  runs  as  follows3: 


53. 

54. 

55. 

56. 

57. 

58. 

59. 

60. 
61. 
62. 

63. 

64. 

65. 

66. 

67. 

68. 

69. 

70. 

71. 


Mummu4  spoke . 

He  sat  him  on  his  knees,  he  kissed . 

The  whole  they  planned,  in  the  whole 


Against  the  gods,  their  firstborn, 
They  cursed  the  gods 
Silence  (?)  seized  them, 

The  wise,  the  instructed, 

Ea,  who  understands  everytl 
He  grasped  it  and, 

He  prepared  his  power, 

He  numbered  it 
Sleep  came  upon  him  [Apsu] 

He  put  Apsu  to  rest, 

Mummu  wandered  about, 

He  burst  his  bond, 

His  lustre  was  gone 
He  (Ea)  had  bewitched  him; 
Mummu  he  bound, 

He  placed  himself  on  Apsu 


they  unloosed  their  power, 
they  plotted  (?), 
they  sat  quietly, 
the  exalted  one, 
saw  their  plan 
comprehending  all,  sat. 
his  holy  witchcraft, 
and  put  it  in  water, 
resting,  he  sank  down, 
pouring  out  sleep, 
with  dress  disordered  (?), 

from  his  mouth . 

he  himself  was  prostrated. 
Apsu  he  had  killed, 
over  him  stationed  a  guard, 
in  a  sitting  posture, 


1  Translated  from  E.  Ebeling’s  Keilschrifttexte  aus  Assur,  Leipsig,  1915-1919,  No.  118.  Ebeling 
has  translated  portions  of  this  into  German  in  the  Mitteilungen  der  deutschen  Orient-Gesellschaft,  No. 
58,  pp.  24  ff. 

2 1  e.,  in  the  midst  of  Apsu  and  Tiamat. 

3  Ebeling,  work  cited,  No.  117. 

4  Mummu  is  a  personification  of  the  roar  of  the  ocean;  Tiamat,  of  the  salt  water;  Apsu,  of  the 
fresh  water. 


456 


APPENDIX 


72.  Mummu  lie  grasped,  he  gazed  upon  him,  wretched  one  (?), 

73.  Both  of  them  he  had  bound,  he  had  destroyed, 

74.  He  established  his  triumph  over  his  enemies. 

75.  Amid  the  destruction  he  rested  peacefully. 

76.  He  bound  (?)  him  and  cast  Apsu  down  to  the  depths. 

77.  On  his  body  (?)  he  founded  his  luxurious  palace; 

78.  Lakhmu  and  Lakhamu  his  wife  he  placed  as  rulers  over  it, 

79.  As  guards  of  the  domed  abodes. 

80.  The  mighty  one,  the  leader  of  the  gods,  Marduk  (?)  [said:] 

81.  “In  the  midst  of  the  deep  Anshar  was  born, 

82.  In  the  holy  deep  Anshar  was  born, 

83.  There  begat  him  Lakhmu,  his  father, 

84.  Lakhamu,  his  mother,  conceived  him, 

85.  There  nourished  him  milk  flowing  from  goddesses.” 

86.  A  marauder  (?)  approached  him,  terror  filled  him ; 

87.  Tall  was  bis  stature,  brilliant  the  look  of  his  eye, 

88.  Hoarse  was  his  voice,  his  course  was  hither  and  thither. 

89.  Lakhmu,  who  begat  him,  his  father,  saw  him, 

90.  Intelligently  he  looked,  his  heart  was  filled  with  joy, 

91.  He  saved  him  and  an  equal  of  the  gods  made  him, 

92.  He  was  greatly  exalted  over  them  who  help  Tiamat. 

93.  Indescribable  was  his  brilliance,  unnumbered  his . 

94.  Unthinkable  his . ,  difficult  to  look  upon, 

95.  Four  eyes,  four  ears  he  had, 

96.  His  lips  he  opened,  fire  came  forth 

97.  There  spoke  (?)  four . 

98.  (Four  eyes)  like  them  were  bright, 

99.  Exalted  was  he  among  the  gods. 

After  this  the  text  is  too  broken  for  connected  translation.  The 
lines  here  translated  fill  much  of  the  long  lacuna  in  the  text  printed 
above  on  page  236. 

Another  tablet  discovered  at  Ashur  contains  nearly  all  the  text 
of  Tablet  VI  of  this  series,  which  gave  an  account  of  the  creation  of 
man.  As  one  can  see  by  glancing  at  the  translation  of  this  tablet 
given  on  page  245  f.  above,  we  possessed  hitherto  only  the  begin¬ 
ning  and  the  end  of  that  tablet.  The  recovery  of  this  important 
text  is  therefore  a  matter  of  considerable  interest.  The  text  is  as 
follows1: 

Tablet  VI 

1.  Marduk,  the  word  of  the  gods,  when  he  heard  it, 

2.  His  heart  was  stirred,  he  formed  a  brilliant  plan. 

3.  He  opened  his  mouth,  to  Ea  he  spoke, 

4.  What  in  his  heart  he  had  conceived  he  offered  as  a  plan: 

5.  “Blood  will  I  bind,  bone  will  I  fashion, 

6.  I  will  produce  a  man;  “man”  is  his  name; 

7.  I  will  create  the  man  “man”; 

1  Translated  from  Ebeling,  Keilschrifttexte  aus  Assur  Religions  Inhalts ,  No.  164.  Ebeling  trans¬ 
lated  portions  of  this  into  German  in  the  Mitteilungen  der  deutschen  Orient-Gesellschaft,  No.  8, 
but  he  left  untranslated  the  interesting  portion  which  relates  to  the  death  of  the  god. 


APPENDIX 


457 


8.  Verily  by  the  service  of  the  gods  he  shall  give  them  rest. 

9.  Verily  I  will  alter  and  change  the  paths  of  the  gods, 

10.  Together  shall  they  be  honored  and  unto  them  will  I  give  power.” 

11.  Then  Ea  answered  him  and  said  a  word  to  him; 

12.  He  unfolded  to  him  a  plan  for  satisfying  the  gods: 

13.  “One  among  your  brethren  must  be  given  up, 

14.  Him  I  will  appoint,  the  people  prepare. 

15.  The  great  gods  must  assemble  together; 

16.  This  one  must  be  given  up;  ye  must  persuade  them.” 

17.  Marduk  assembled  the  great  gods,  he  entered  and  delivered  the  decision, 

18.  He  opened  his  mouth,  to  the  gods  he  spoke: 

19.  “Truly  the  former  things  we  told  you  are  verified; 

20.  True  things  with  myself  as  an  oath  I  have  sworn. 

21.  Who  is  it  that  has  created  the  strife, 

22.  Brought  about  the  uproar,  united  the  battle? 

23.  He  who  has  caused  the  strife  shall  be  given  up. 

24.  I  will  make  him,  verily,  I  will  cause  him  to  bear  the  curse  To  destroy  the 

garment.’  ”  1 

25.  Then  answered  him  the  Igigi,  the  great  gods; 

26.  “O  king,  god  of  heaven  and  earth,  counsellor  of  the  gods,  their  lord, 

27.  Kingu  it  was  who  caused  the  strife, 

28.  He  led  the  rebellion  and  brought  on  the  battle.” 

29.  They  bound  him  and  brought  him  before  Ea. 

30.  Then  a  curse  he  laid  on  him;  his  blood  burst  forth  from  him. 

31.  From  his  blood  he  made  mankind  for  the  service  of  the  gods, 

32.  But  (the  other)  gods  he  let  go  free. 

33.  After  man  had  been  created,  Ea  laid  on  him  the  service  of  the  gods. 

34.  Marduk,  king  of  the  gods,  stationed  twenty  Anunnaki  above  and  below, 

35.  He  delivered  unto  Anu  the  charge  to  guard . the  post 

36.  He  changed  the  prince  who  guards  the  earth . 

37.  From  the  day  the  shepherd . 

38.  The  Anunnaki  who . 

39.  The  Anunnaki . approached . 

40.  To  Marduk  their  father  they  spoke: 

41.  “0  divine  guardian  of  the  earth,  lord,  who  hast  wrought  our  release, 

42.  How  do  we  cling  to  thy  presence! 

43.  Oh,  we  will  make  a  sanctuary  the  naming  of  whose  name  is 

44.  ‘Sanctuary- wherein-we-may- take-rest!’ 

45.  Oh,  wre  will  found  our  sanctuary  as  our  dwelling! 

46.  On  the  day  wrhen  wre  take  possession,  we  will  rest  in  it.” 

47.  Marduk,  when  he  heard  this, 

48.  His  face  like  the  day  appeared  exceeding  bright: 

49.  “Like  the  founding  of  Babylon  with  walls,  be  the  joy  of  its  founding. 

50.  Let  an  enclosed  city  be  built,  a  district  of  land  surround  it.” 

51.  The  Anunnaki  presented  the  strength  of  the  mountain  as  the  glory  of  its 

foundation. 

52.  The  second  year  came  around,  the  enclosure  of  Esagila  was  founded  on 

the  breast  of  Apsu.2 

53.  They  built  the  temple-tower  till  it  touched  the  celestial  ocean; 

54.  For  Marduk,  Enlil,  and  Ea  they  raised  it  as  a  dwelling; 

55.  With  the  glory  of  their  presence  they  entered  in. 

56.  From  its  foundation  Esagila  exhibited  its  two  horns. 


1  See  above,  p.  242,  lines  22-26. 

2  Apsu  corresponds  to  “the  waters  under  the  earth,”  Exodus  20  :  4. 


458 


APPENDIX 


57.  From  Esagila  they  made  its  double; 

58.  The  Anunnaki  the  double  (?)  of  their  sanctuary  set  up; 

59.  The  Anunnaki  placed  by  the  side  of  the  deep  their  temple  (?); 

60.  In  a  large  garden  which  they  created  was  their  dwelling. 

61.  The  gods,  his  fathers,  to  his  prayer  (?)  hearkened: 

62.  Divine  fate  at  the  great  gate  of  the  beloved  dwelling  was  established. 

63.  In  the  district  each  (?)  in  his  place  the  great  gods  dwelt. 

64 . they  made  feasts . they  placed  in  it. 

65.  In  Esagila . 

66.  Faithful  was  the  guardian  of  the  gods  before . the  rebellious, 

67.  The  place  of  heaven  and  earth  was  established  by  the  gods,  all  of  them. 

68.  The  great  gods  dwelt  there  (?)  joyfully  (?) 


69.  The  gods  of  fate,  seven  of  them  over . were  established. 

70.  Enlil  lifted  up  his  weapon  (?),  their . he  cast  down. 


71.  The  house  which  the  gods  his  fathers  had  made 

72.  He  saw  and  the  bow  of  Anu  (?)  [he  hurled  ?]  at  the  structure  (?). 

73.  The  deed  he  did . his  fathers. 

74.  Anu  rose  up . he  said: 

75.  The  bow  has  been  hurled  (?) . 

76.  He  went  out,  aromatic  wood  he  took  (?) . 

77.  The  region  (?)  of  Babylon . 

78.  He  saw  and  the  trees  in . 

Some  lines  on  the  tablet  are  too  broken  for  any  connected  trans¬ 
lation.  They  are  about  eight  in  number,  but  as  several  of  those  that 
have  been  translated  are,  on  the  tablet,  written  two  lines  as  one,  the 
next  translatable  line  is  numbered  as  line  79. 

79.  He  caused  to  abound . 

80.  Unto  his  name . 

81.  He  opened  his  mouth . 

82.  Verily  he  poured  out  (?) . 

83.  Verily  he  was  exalted  and . 

84.  He  stood,  verily  her  spell  (?)  was  turned . 

85.  Verily  he  accomplished  our  help . 

86.  He  beheld  the  light  of  day,  the  dawn  (?) . 

87.  His  fathers  established . 

88.  Their  cultivation  verily . 

89.  Verily  he  collected . 

90.  He  increased  in  heaven,  he  made . 

91.  Verily  he  cast  down . 

92.  Not . . . 

93.  He  opened  his  mouth  he  related  wisdom  (?)  briefly: 

94.  When  their  goddess  was  taken  away — their  Ishtar, 

95.  Men  forgot  their  god;  verily  there  was  ruin! 

96.  Their  pride  (?)  became  great;  their  sanctuaries  were  desecrated  (?) 

97.  Verily  they  grew  mighty;  the  black-headed  race  rose  up,1 

98.  Sanctuaries  (?)  as  many  as  they  had  commanded  to  build  they  destroyed. 

99.  They  [the  godsj  named  it  [the  black-headed  race];  ‘Terror’  was  its  name. 

100.  Ruin  verily  increased;  it  was  terrible!  Verily  it  was  thus! 


1  A  name  by  which  the  Babylonians  called  themselves. 


APPENDIX 


459 


101.  It  was  Marduk  whom,  on  account  of  its  devastation,  Anu,  his  father 

called. 

102.  Making  a  pit  as  a  tomb,  in  full  splendor  he  went  down  to  it 

103.  Who,  by  his  weapon  the  deluge,  had  taken  captive  those  who  rebelled  (?). 

104.  The  gods,  his  fathers,  he  preserved  from  tribulation. 

105.  Surely  it  was  his  counsels  (?)  for  which  the  gods  called  him! 

106.  In  his  brilliant  light,  they  walk  continually. 

107.  The  bones,  which  he  had  made,  a  living  creature  became; 

108.  The  service  of  the  gods  he  established;  them  he  pacified. 

109.  Mankind  (?)  was  created  (?)  again; 

110.  Verily  favor  was  restored;  they  looked  on  them  with  compassion— even 

them. 

111.  The  divine  son  was  imprisoned,  Ea  [spake  thus  ?]  concerning  the  son: 

112.  “He  gave  joy  to  the  hearts  of  the  Anunnaki . 

113.  The  divine  son  was  slain  and  might  overcame  (?)  him . his . 

114.  Him  shall  indeed  the  people  of  the  lands  praise . 

115.  The  divine  prince,  mighty,  and  strong,  and  broken . 

116.  Broken  was  his  heart;  dishonored  his  body! 

117.  As  divine  king,  god  of  heaven  and  earth,  whose  name  our  assembly 

named,  , 

118.  (By)  the  word  of  their  mouth,  even  theirs,  above  the  gods  his  fathers — ■ 

119.  Verily  above  the  gods  of  heaven  and  earth,  all  of  them — 

120.  As  king  on  his  throne  (?)  the  gods  verily  said  (?)  they  would  seat  him  (?). 

121.  The  brilliant  god,  the  king  of  heaven  and  earth  is  his  name,  who,  removed 

from  the  mountain,  the  place  of  the  gods 

122.  Of  heaven  and  earth,  has  been  overthrown.  Our  dwelling  is  in  distress! 

123.  Between  the  Igigi1  and  the  Anunnaki2  the  place  is  divided.” 

124.  With  his  name  the  gods  verily  recorded  his  stewardship  in  the  dwelling: 

125.  “Asaru,3  whom  Anu  his  father  named  is  its  saviour; 

126.  He  verily  was  the  light  of  the  gods— their  battle-axe, 

127.  Who,  like  the  powerful  guardian,  Ishtar,  is  dead! 

128.  By  a  mighty  battle  he  delivered  his  dwelling  from  distress.” 

129.  Two  mighty  ones  called  the  god  Asaru,  who  is  the  perfect  god,  unto  life 

again. 

130.  “It  was  he  who  by  his  act  gave  might  to  us,  the  gods  who  had  perished! 

131.  He  is  the  lord  who,  by  his  holy  death,  made  the  dead  gods  to  live! 

132.  There  perished  the  hirelings  who  hated  him . ! 

133.  Verily  he  is  the  one  whom  his  fathers  named  the  brilliant  god! — 

134.  The  pure  god  who  makes  holy  all  of  us!” 

135.  There  came  Anshar,  Lakhmu,  and  Lakhamu, 


136.  Unto  their . they  spoke- 

137.  “We . we  will  name  their  names, 


138.  Continually  let  them  be  bound  (?).” 

139.  They  rejoiced  (?) . they  named  their  names. 

138.  Continually  let  them  be  bound  (?).” 

139.  They  rejoiced  (?) . they  named  their  names. 

140.  By  the  favor  of  their  mighty  leader,  their  counsellors . them, 


141.  Whom  the  son,  the  hero . our  deliverance. 

142.  Now  a  second  time  we  celebrate  his  name. 

143.  They  sat  and  with  their  leader . his  obedience; 


144.  With  purity  of  lip  their  words  celebrated  (?)  his  name. 


1  The  Spirits  of  heaven. 

2  The  Spirits  of  earth. 

5  Another  name  for  Marduk. 


460 


APPENDIX 


This  is,  in  many  respects,  a  most  remarkable  text.  Scholars 
have  long  desired  to  recover  that  portion  of  this  epic  which  treated 
of  the  creation  of  man,  and  have  speculated  as  to  whether  the 
Babylonian  traditions  contained  anything  comparable  to  the  Bibli¬ 
cal  account  of  the  Garden  of  Eden.  This  tablet  contains  all  this 
and  more.  It  contains  an  account  of  the  fall  of  man  and  of  redemp¬ 
tion  by  the  death  of  a  god ! 

Lines  1-32  contain  the  account  of  the  creation  of  man.  This 
creation  is  said  to  have  been  accomplished  by  sacrificing  the  life  of 
Kingu,  the  god  who,  by  leading  a  rebellion,  had  created  strife 
among  the  gods.  Man  was  made  from  Kingu’s  blood.  This  seems 
to  have  been  the  Babylonian  way  of  expressing  the  thought  that 
man  is  akin  to  deity — a  thought  which  in  Genesis  1  :  26,  27  is 
expressed  by  saying  that  God  made  man  in  his  own  image.  The 
purpose  of  the  creation  of  man  was  to  serve  the  gods — to  “satisfy” 
them  or  “give  them  rest.”  This,  in  the  minds  of  Babylonians  and 
Assyrians,  was  accomplished  by  building  temples  in  which  the  gods 
could  dwell  and  by  offering  sacrifices  on  which  the  gods  could 
feed. 

After  man  was  thus  created,  it  is  related  in  lines  33-69  how  Eden 
was  established.  Man  was  put  upon  the  earth,  twenty  of  the  great 
spirits  of  the  earth  were  stationed  above  and  below,  and  a  guard  was 
placed  so  that  he  should  not  get  away  (lines  33-35).  This  corre¬ 
sponds  to  the  Cherubim  of  Genesis  3  :  24,  only  in  the  Babylonian 
Epic  the  guardians  were  placed  to  keep  man  from  getting  out  of 
Eden,  while  in  Genesis  they  are  stationed  to  keep  him  from  getting 
back  into  Eden. 

As  a  result  of  the  creation  of  man,  the  gods  are  said  to  have  been 
made  very  happy.  A  temple  was  built  for  them,  under  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  the  Anunnaki,  or  spirits  of  earth,  similar  to  that  which  after¬ 
ward  was  called  Esagila  in  Babylon.  Around  this  temple  was  a 
garden  of  the  gods.  Heie  they  dwelt;  man  served  them;  and  they 
feasted  joyfully.  All  this  is  the  Babylonian  equivalent  of  the  state¬ 
ment  in  Genesis  2  :  9,  that  God  “planted  a  garden  eastward  in 
Eden”  (edinnu,  the  Mesopotamian  plain)  “and  there  he  put  the 
man  whom  he  had  formed.” 

Lines  70-100  are  greatly  mutilated  by  the  crumbling  of  the  tablet, 
but  enough  is  told  to  make  it  clear  that,  on  account  of  jealousy 
among  the  gods  themselves,  the  happy  conditions  that  had  been 
established  were  destroyed.  Man  became  rebellious,  arrogant, 


APPENDIX 


461 


and  reduced  the  sanctuaries  of  the  gods  to  ruins.  This  is  the  Baby¬ 
lonian  equivalent  of  the  fall  of  man  in  Genesis  3. 

Lines  100-144  are  in  many  respects  the  most  remarkable  and 
unexpected  part  of  the  poem.  They  relate  the  rc-creation  or  regen¬ 
eration  of  man  by  the  voluntary  death  of  the  god  Marduk  (some¬ 
times  called  Asharu).  In  line  102  this  god  is  said  to  have  gone  down 
into  a  tomb.  By  this  act  (see  lines  107-110)  he  created  a  new  man, 
who  re-established  the  service  of  the  gods  and  rescued  them  from 
desolation.  Lines  111-128  relate  how,  apparently  while  Marduk 
was  in  the  grave,  the  gods  laud  him  for  his  heroic  self-sacrifice  and 
promise  to  enthrone  him  over  all. 

Then  in  line  129  there  is  the  statement  of  a  resurrection.  “Two 
mighty  ones  called  the  god  Asharu,  who  is  the  perfect  god,  unto  life 
again.”  This  statement  vividly  recalls  the  two  angels  who  are  said 
in  the  Gospel  to  have  appeared  at  the  tomb  of  Christ  at  the  time  of 
his  resurrection  (see  John  20  :  12). 

The  poem  concludes  with  a  record  of  the  detection  and  punish¬ 
ment  of  the  wicked  gods,  and  of  the  renewed  praises  which  the 
grateful  deities  ascribed  to  Marduk.  If  we  eliminate  the  poly¬ 
theism  from  these  lines,  they  might  almost  be  employed  to  expiess 
the  Christian  doctrine  of  atonement  by  the  death  of  Christ.  Then 
we  should  read: 

He  is  the  God  who,  by  his  holy  death,  makes  the  dead  to  live. 

There  perished  the  hirelings  who  hated  him. 

Verily  he  is  the  God  whom  God  his  father  named, 

The  holy  God  who  makes  pure  all  of  us. 

This  text  will  be  regarded  very  differently  by  different  classes  of 
readers.  Each  will  find  in  it  something  of  what  he  brings  to  it. 
By  many  it  will  be  regarded  as  a  kind  of  adumbration  of  the  Gospel 
message — wdiat  Eusebius  would  have  called  a  “preparation  for  the 
Gospel.”  Some  of  those  who  so  regard  it  will  find  in  it  evidence 
that  there  is  no  people  in  the  world  where  God  has  “left  himself  with¬ 
out  witness.” 

On  the  other  hand,  a  mythological  school  of  interpreters  of  the 
life  of  Christ  has  arisen  in  recent  years.  Members  of  this  school 
will  employ  this  text  in  quite  a  different  way.  They  now  contend 
that  no  such  person  as  Jesus  of  Nazareth  ever  lived,  or,  if  he  lived, 
no  such  events  happened  to  him  as  are  recorded  in  the  Gospels. 
They  claim  that  the  narratives  of  his  miracles,  of  his  death  and 


462 


APPENDIX 


resurrection,  are  but  the  revamping  of  stories  that  were  told  of 
heathen  gods — Tammuz,  Osiris,  Attis,  and  others.  Among  the 
adherents  of  this  school  there  are  some  noted  Assyriologists.  The 
writer  hears  that  members  of  this  school  are  already  employing  this 
text  as  an  argument  in  favor  of  their  claims.  He  has  not  yet  seen 
the  articles  in  question,  but  has  no  doubt  but  that  the  line 

There  perished  the  hirelings  who  hated  him 

will  be  used  to  show  that  even  Judas  Iscariot  is  a  myth! 

No  Christian  need  be  disturbed  by  writings  of  this  kind.  Serious 
scholars  regard  them  as  worthless.  No  one  of  these  writers  has 
ever  had  training  in  historical  criticism  or  knows  how  to  form  a 
judgment  on  an  historical  matter.  Several  of  them  are  philologists; 
one  a  mathematician;  another  a  teacher  in  a  secondary  school,  and 
the  others  men  who  similarly  lack  the  necessary  qualifications  ade¬ 
quately  to  deal  with  this  subject. 

Now  that  we  have  this  remarkable  completion  of  Tablet  VI,  it 
becomes  evident  that  the  praise  of  Marduk  in  Tablet  VII  under  the 
name  Asharu  (one  of  the  names  employed  to  designate  him  in 
Tablet  VI)  was  prompted  not  entirely  by  his  victory  over  Tiamat 
described  in  Tablet  IV,  as  was  previously  thought,  but  perhaps  even 
more  by  his  self-sacrifice  in  giving  his  life  that  the  gods  might  live. 


X 

ANOTHER  SUMERIAN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  CREATION 

OF  MAN 

Still  another  account  of  the  creation  of  man  has  been  found  among 
the  tablets  discovered  at  the  city  of  Ashur.  This  was  copied  by  the 
Assyrian  scribes  from  a  Sumerian  text  so  old  that  it  is  accompanied 
not  only  by  an  Assyrian  translation,  but  by  many  kabbalistic 
symbols.  It  reads  as  follows1: 

1.  When  both  heaven  and  earth  had  been  completely  established; 

2.  When  the  mother  of  the  goddesses  had  been  born; 

3.  When  the  earth  had  been  brought  forth,  the  land  created, 

4.  When  the  domes  of  heaven  and  earth  had  been  established, 

1  Translated  from  E.  Ebeling’s  Keilschrifltexte  aus  Assur  Religions  Inhalts,  Leipsig,  1915-1919, 
No.  4. 


APPENDIX 


46  3 


5.  Straight  canals  had  been  constructed; 

6.  The  Tigris  and  Euphrates — their  banks  had  been  established; 

7.  Anu,  Enlil,  Shamash,  Ea, 

8.  The  great  gods, 

9.  The  Anunnaki,  the  great  gods, 

10.  Lofty  sanctuaries  inhabited  as  creators. 

11.  In  anxiety  they  asked: 

12.  “Since  the  domes  of  heaven  and  earth  have  been  established, 

13.  Straight  canals  have  been  constructed, 

14.  The  Tigris  and  Euphrates — 

15.  Their  banks  have  been  established, 

16.  What  shall  we  change? 

17.  What  shall  we  create? 

18.  O  Anunnaki,  ye  great  gods, 

19.  What  shall  we  change? 

20.  What  shall  we  create?” 

21.  The  great  gods,  standing  aloft, 

22.  The  Anunnaki,  who  determine  fate, 

23.  The  two  of  them  made  answer  to  Enlil: 

24.  “In  the  land  where  flesh  grows,  the  bond  of  heaven  and  earth, 

25.  Lamga,  Lamga,  we  will  overthrow; 

26.  From  his  blood  mankind  we  will  make, 

27.  Let  the  bonds  of  the  gods  be  bound  upon  them; 

28.  For  future  days  the  limit 

29.  Be  established; 

30.  The  yoke  and  lifting  cord  on  their  hands 

31.  Be  placed, 

32.  The  temple  of  the  great  gods 

33.  Unto  a  lofty  sanctuary  to  bring, 

34.  The  meadows  to  mark  out, 

35.  Forever  their  limits 

36.  To  establish, 

37.  The  straight  canal 

38.  As  a  boundary  to  establish, 

39.  The  earth  to  water,  the  plants 

40.  To  raise, 

41.  The  rain  of  heaven,  the  rain  of  heaven . 

42.  The  ravine  of  the  land  as  a  boundary  to  set, 

43.  The  storehouse  of  the  district  to  measure  it, 

44.  To  make  the  field  of  the  Anunnaki  produce, 

45.  To  increase  the  abundance  of  the  land, 

46.  To  keep  the  feast  of  the  gods, 

47.  Cool  water  to  pour  out 

48.  In  the  dwellings  of  the  gods  which  have  been  made  lofty. 

49.  Ullugarra  and  Nigarra 

50.  Shall  they  be  called. 

51.  Ox,  sheep,  cattle,  fish,  and  bird, 

52.  The  abundance  of  the  land  to  increase, 

53.  The  lord  of  gladness  and  the  lady  of  gladness 

54.  With  their  holy  mouth  to  supplicate. 

55.  O  Aruru,  who  hast  been  raised  up  for  ladyship, 

56.  Great  structures  thou  thyself  shalt  enclose, 

57.  Wise  men  for  the  people,  heroes  for  the  weak, 

58.  Like  grain  springing  of  itself  from  the  earth,  shall  be  made, — 

59.  A  destiny  unchangeable  as  a  star  forever. 


464 


APPENDIX 


60.  By  day  and  night 

61.  The  feasts  of  the  gods, 

62.  Their  great  appointed  festivals  of  themselves 

63.  They  shall  celebrate.” 

64.  Ami,  Enlil, 

65.  Ea,  Ninmakhu 

66.  The  great  gods, 

67.  The  place  of  mankind  created. 

68.  The  goddess  Nisaba1  in  mankind’s  place  was  established. 

69.  Mighty  and  secret  things 

70.  As  a  scribe  I  teach. 

This  account  shows  that  there  were  among  the  Babylonian  tradi¬ 
tions  variations  of  the  idea  that  man  was  made  from  the  blood  of  a 
god.  In  this  account,  instead  of  being  from  the  blood  of  Kingu,  one 
of  the  rebellious  gods,  husband  of  the  arch-rebel  Tiamat,  he  is  made 
from  the  blood  of  Lamga,  the  craftsman,  the  god  of  carpenters. 

It  will  be  noted  that,  as  in  the  sixth  tablet  of  the  Creation  Epic, 
so  in  this  account  man  was  created  by  the  gods  for  the  specific  pur¬ 
pose  of  tilling  the  ground,  building  temples,  and  keeping  up  the 
festivals  of  the  gods.  It  accords  in  that  respect  with  the  thought 
of  the  second  chapter  of  Genesis,  where  man  is  placed  in  Eden,  the 
garden  of  God,  to  dress  it  and  to  keep  it  for  his  Divine  Creator 
(see  Genesis  2  :  15). 

XI 

A  BABYLONIAN  SONG  OF  SONGS 

On  pages  413-416  above  some  Egyptian  parallels  to  the  Song  of 
Songs  are  translated.  Among  the  texts  from  Ashur  published  dur¬ 
ing  the  year  1919  there  is  one  which  furnishes  a  Babylonian  parallel 
to  it.  It  is  part  of  a  hymn  or  song  employed  in  the  worship  of 
Tammuz.  The  “son”  in  it,  originally  Tammuz  the  son  of  the 
goddess  Ishtar,  is  employed  as  the  designation  of  the  ideal  lover. 
In  the  first  strophe  a  woman  speaks;  in  the  second,  a  man;  in  the 
third,  a  woman;  in  the  fourth,  a  man.  The  text  reads  as  follows: 

How  do  I  delight  in  joy2 

When  the  lord  of  my  right  hand  embraces  me! 

1  The  grain-goddess. 

2  Translated  from  Ebeling,  work  cited,  No.  158,  pages  273,  274.  Ebeling  has  presented  a  German 
translation  of  a  part  of  it  in  the  Mittheilungen  der  deutschen  Orient-Gesellschaft,  No.  58,  1917,  p.  49 
f.,  but  it  is  a  garbled  translation.  He  has  omitted  many  lines  apparently  because  they  were  diffi¬ 
cult. 


APPENDIX 


465 


He  receives  me;  I  spread  out  my  arms  to  the  son! 
When,  0  lord,  wilt  thou  enter  in  hither? 

I  press  against  thy  breast; 

With  pleasant  odors  is  the  night  bewitched. 

The  name  of  the  son  I  share; 

I  look  on  the  fat  of  the  land. 

When  he  imparts  secrets  there  is  joy  of  heart! 

For  me,  O  son,  brightness  increases. 


The  bride  is  to  me  like  a  fragrant  cedar — 

A  strong  cedar  that  sustains  (?)  the  dwelling! 

Illustrious,  brilliant, 

It  establishes  our  joy — our  life! 

The  odors  of  cedar  refine  life! 

At  the  door  of  the  lord  she  is  jubilant 
On  this  evening,  this  night. 

How  luxurious  she  is!  How  brilliant! 

The  mighty  ones  of  the  garden  shall  behold  thy  charms. 
Today  my  heart  is  joyfully  tuneful. 


There  has  gone  down  to  the  garden1  the  king  who  fells  the  cedar. 
Thou,  O  son,  lovest  our  breast! 

Across  the  river  is  a  joyful  city; 

Our  place  at  the  approach  (?)  of  the  month  is  jubilant! 

Yonder  one  is  going,  O  son; 

When  he  is  away,  thou  art  my  companion! 

A  bird,  a  dove  passes;  the  light  of  Eros  is  thy  gift, 

Who  art  a  god  doing  right!  The  garden  is  jubilant! 

The  day  the  god  stands  in  Larsa  the  god 
Is  jubilant;  he  is  full  of  passion! 


Rejoice!  Nana  is  in  the  garden,  the  abode  which  thou  lovest! 
A  maiden  is  brought;  her  heart  is  glad! 

Thus  do  I  rejoice  continually! 

I  rejoice  in  thee,  O  divine  child! 

My  sealed  eyes  are  full  of  sleep! 

Thy  love  is  indeed  a  jewel! 

The  enjoyment  of  thee,  verily  gold! 

My  love  is  a  light  which  illumines  the  darkness! 

Tonight  I  think  upon  thee! 


He  opened  his  mouth: 

“After  thou  hast  lain  in  the  bosom  of  the  son 
Thy  waist  (?)  is  a  mountain  of  lapis-lazuli! 

Joyfully  I  present  the  king! 

Blessed  is  the  darkness  (?) ! 

In  thy  love  is  abundant  life!” 

Love  causes  embracings! 

1  The  phrase  and  idea  are  strikingly  similar  to  Cant.  6:2: 

My  beloved  is  gone  down  to  his  garden .... 
To  feed  in  the  gardens,  and  to  gather  lilies. 


466 


APPENDIX 


Comment  seems  unnecessary.  While  the  lines  have  a  Baby¬ 
lonian  and  a  polytheistic  flavor,  the  general  theme — the  praise  of 
the  charms  of  two  lovers  for  one  another — is  identical  with  the 
theme  of  the  Song  of  Songs,  and  the  delight  in  love  which  bieathes 
from  the  lines  is  similar  to  that  which  is  expressed  in  Canticles. 
Occasionally  a  phrase  reminds  one  of  a  phrase  in  Canticles  and  the 
figure  of  the  garden  comes  in  a  similar  way  into  both  this  poem  and 
the  Song  of  Songs. 


INDEX  OF  SCRIPTURE  PASSAGES 


Genesis —  page 

1 .  247 

1:7 . 248 

1  :  24-27 . 266,460 

2  . 256,460 

3  . 260,  461 

3  :  18,  24 . 289,460 

4  :  1,2,  16-23 .  269 

5  .  264 

5  :  24 .  266 

6,  7,  8,  9 .  277 

9  :  20 . 287,289 

10  :  10 . 44,47,58 

10  :  11 . 43,47,60 

10  :23 .  116 

11:2 .  58 

11:9 .  42 

11  :  27 .  109 

11:31 .  77 

11  :  31,  ff .  112 


14  :  1.58,  294,295,297,298 

14  :  5 .  215 

14  :  6 . 106,  116 

14  :  15 .  213 

15  :  2 .  213 

16  :  5-7 .  329 

16:7 .  95 

19  :  1 .  129 

21 .  Ill 

21  :  9,  10 .  329 

22  .  172 

22  :  2 .  168 

22  :  6,  10 .  152 

22  :  9 .  169 

23  .  76 

23  :  10 .  68 

24  :  22 .  161 

24  :30 .  156 

25  :  15 .  307 

25  :  34... .  134 

26:34 .  68 

29  :  1 .  108 

30  :  1-13 .  328 

34:20 .  129 

36  :  20 .  106,  308 

36  :  20-22 .  109 

36  :  21 .  106 

36  :  24 .  308 

36  :  29 .  106,  109 

37  : 17 .  133 


Genesis — •  page 

40  :  11 .  136 

41  :  30 .  305 

41  :  39 .  303 

41  :  42 .  157 

41:45 .  34 

41:47-57 .  306 

41  :  54 .  305 

46  :  17 .  349 

50  :  13 .  180 

50  :  26 .  303,  411 

Exodus — 

1  :  11 .  35 

2  :  1-10 .  311 

3  :  8,  17 .  139,309 

4  :  25 .  152 

5  :  7-18 .  36 

11  :  5 .  135 

12  .  390 

12:37 .  36 

13:20 .  36 

14  :  23-28 .  37 

16  :  36 .  158 

18  :  13-26 .  315 

20:8-11 .  258 

20  :  12 .  411 

20  :  24 .  172 

20:24-26 .  198 

21  :  2-6 .  316,  323 

21  :  2-11 .  324 

21  :  6 .  340 

21  :  12-14,  18-27 .  334 

21  :  16 .  316 

21  :  17 .  332 

21  :  24 .  340 

21  :  28-35 .  337 

22  :  1-4,  9 .  315 

22  : 5 .  319,  320 

22  :  5,  6 .  319 

22  :  7-10 .  323 

22  :  10-13 .  339 

22  :  11,  25 .  320 

22  :  16,  17 .  328 

22  :  18 .  314 

22  :  26,  27 .  324 

23  :  10,  11 .  319 

29  :  40 .  158 

34  :  20 .  172 

35  :  22 .  156 

38  :  26 .  161 


Leviticus —  page 

5  :  13 .  343 

6:3-5 .  315 

6  :  18,  29 .  343 

7  :  8-10,  14,  34 .  343 

11  :  35 .  149 

18  :  6-18 .  329 

19  :  9 .  319 

19  :  20-22 .  328 

20  :  10 .  328 

20  :  11,  12,  19-21 .  329 

22  :  30 .  329 

23  .  390 

24  :  20 .  340 

25  :  5 .  137 

25  :  25-46 .  316 

26  :  26 .  149 

Numbers — 

5  :  9,  10 .  343 

5  :  11-28 .  314,  328 

13  :  23 .  136 

14  :  8 .  139 

16  :  13,  14 .  139 

21  :  13 .  365 

21  :  15,  16 .  116 

21  :  21 .  116,  308 

21  :  30 .  443 

26  :  45 .  349 

27  :  8-11 .  332 

31  :  29,  41 .  343 

31  :  50 .  157 

32:8 .  95 

32  :34 .  112,  365 

32  :  38 .  365 

32  :  42 .  215 

33:5,6 .  36 

36  :  2-12 .  332 

Deuteronomy — 

1  :  4  ...111,  112,  116,  308 

2  :  12,  22 .  106 

2  :  24 .  365 

2  :  26 .  307 

3:9 .  116 

3:11 .  217 

5  :  12-15 .  258 

5  :  16 .  411 

6:3 .  139 

7:5 .  91 

10  :  18 .  420 


467 


468 


INDEX  OF  SCRIPTURE  PASSAGES 


Deuteronomy — 

PAGE 

Joshua — 

PAGE 

2  Samuel — 

PAGE 

11  :  10 . 

. . . .  84 

21  :  19 . 

.  Ill 

12  : 31 . 

.  152 

12  :  3 . 

.  . .  .  91 

21 : 23 . 

.  377 

15  :  2 . 

.  190 

14  :  29 . 

.  . .  .  420 

16  :  9 . 

.  139 

15,  16,  17 . 

. ...  340 

Judges — 

17  :  28 . 

.  134 

15  :  7-18 . 

.  ...  323 

1  :  5,  27-36... 

.  116 

20  :  14 . 

.  Ill 

15  :  12-18 . 

316,  324 

1  :  17 . 

.  Ill 

21  :  12 . 

.  214 

16  :  9 . 

.  . . .  135 

1  :  21 . 

.  188 

23  :  11 . 

.  134 

16  : 18-20 . 

. ...  315 

1  :  27 . 

. . .  92,  111 

24 . 

. . . .  190,  192 

18  :  10 . 

. ...  314 

1  :  29 . 

.  117 

24  :  16 . 

.  193 

19  :  4 . 

. ...  334 

4,  5,  6 . 

.  133 

24  :  16,  17..  . 

.  377 

19  :  5 . 

. ...  152 

4:2 . 

.  Ill 

24  :  18,  22... 

.  135 

19  :  16-21 . 

.  ...  314 

4  :  21 . 

.  153 

19  :  21 . 

. ...  340 

5  :  19 . 

.  97 

1  Kings — 

21  :  1-9 . 

. ...  316 

5  :  26 . 

.  153 

1  : 33 . 

.  101 

21  :  15-21 . 

. ...  332 

6:3 . 

. .  108,  307 

1  :40 . 

.  155 

22  :  6 . 

. ...  139 

6:11 . 

. .  Ill,  193 

3:1 . 

.  190 

22  :  13-21 . 

. . . .  325 

6  :  19 . 

.  153 

3  :  1,  ff . 

.  30 

22  :  22-29 . 

... .  328 

6  :  33 . 

.  108 

3:2 . 

.  169 

22  :30 . 

. ...  329 

7  :  12 . 

. .  108,  307 

4:7 . 

.  317 

23  :  15 . 

. . . .  316 

7  :  22 . 

.  Ill 

4  :  12 . 

.  214 

23  :  17 . 

323,  326 

8:10 . 

. .  108,  307 

5  :  6,  17 . 

.  358 

23  :  17,  18 . 

. . . .  333 

9  :  4,  46 . 

.  351 

6:4 . 

. . . .  194,  195 

23  :  24 . 

. ...  137 

9  :  53 . 

.  136 

6  :  29,  32,  35 

.  194 

23  :  24,  25 . 

.  ...  319 

11  :  3,  5 . 

.  Ill 

6  :  36 . 

.  195 

24  :  1-4 . 

. ...  329 

13  :  2 . 

.  112 

7  :  2,  6 . 

.  196 

24  :  6 . 

. . . .  136 

13  :  19 . 

.  193 

7  :  8,  12,  23- 

37,39...  195 

24  :  10-13 . 

. ...  324 

16  :  23-30 . 

. . .  93, 176 

7:9 . 

.  152 

24  :  19-22 . 

. ...  319 

18  :  7,  18 . 

.  Ill 

7  :  49 . 

.  194 

25  :  4 . 

. . . .  135 

18  :  29 . 

.  133 

9  :  15 . 

....  112,  190 

26  :  2,  4 . 

. . . .  153 

19  :  10,  11 . 

.  188 

9  :  15-19.... 

.  94 

28  :  5,  17 . 

. . . .  153 

9  :  16 . 

.  30 

34  :  1 . 

. ...  365 

1  Samuel — 

9  :  24 . 

.  189 

2  :  13,  14 . 

.  151 

10  :  1 . 

.  371 

Joshua — 

4:1 . 

.  Ill 

10  :  1-13 . 

.  381 

2:6 . 

.  ...  138 

5:8 . 

.  91 

10  :  5,  18-20.. 

.  195 

5  :  2,  3 . 

. ...  152 

9  :  12 . 

.  169 

11  :  14-25.... 

.  118 

6  :  20 . 

. ...  125 

10  :  5 . 

.  155 

11  :  27 . 

.  190 

9  :  17,  20 . 

....  Ill 

10  :  26 . 

.  133 

11  :  40 . 

.  30 

10  :  3 . 

.  89,  112 

11:4 . 

.  133 

12  :  12 . 

.  359 

10  : 33. . .92,  112, 

116,  117 

13  :  20,  21 . 

.  161 

14  :  25 . 

.  .37, 118, 360 

11  :  1,2 . 

....  Ill 

17  :  1 . 

.  Ill 

14  :  25-28. . . 

.  30,  259 

11  :  22 . 

.  ...  91 

17  :  4 . 

.  91 

15  :  20 . 

.  Ill 

12  :  4 . 

....  Ill 

17  :43 . 

.  139 

16  :  23-29... 

.  365 

12  :  21 . 

. .  96,  97 

19  :  24 . 

.  356 

16  :  24 . 

.  127 

12  :  22 . 

. ...  133 

23  :  1 . 

. .  112,  188 

16  :  34  ...99, 

100,  125,  128 

13  :  9 . 

. . . .  443 

25  :  2 . 

.  188 

16  :  36 . 

.  128 

13  :  16-19 . 

. ...  365 

28  :  41 . 

.  Ill 

17  :  10 . 

.  133 

13  :  25 . 

. ...  217 

31:5 . 

.  154 

19  :  16,  17... 

.  124 

15  :  10 . 

.  94,  112 

31  :  10 . 

.  133 

19  :  19 . 

,  . . .  134,  135 

15  :  37 . 

114,  116 

31  :  10,  12 . 

.  214 

21  :  8 . 

.  155 

15  :  41 . 

111,  116 

22  :  39 . 

. . .  100,  127 

15  : 44 . 

.  ...  346 

2  Samuel — 

15  :  59 . 

....  Ill 

1  :  10 . 

.  156 

2  Kings — 

15  :  63 . .  . 

. . . .  188 

2  :  16 . 

.  154 

2  :  19-22.... 

.  98 

17  :  11. ..Ill, 114,  133,  214 

3  :  27 . 

.  129 

3  :  4 . 

.  364 

18  :  24 . 

....  Ill 

5:6-8 . 

.  188 

3  :  4-12 . 

.  197 

19  :  6 . 

. ...  110 

5:9 . 

.  189 

3  :  5-27 . 

.  365 

19  :  18-20,  25,  28. 

....  Ill 

5  :  25 . 

.  92 

4  :  8 . 

.  Ill 

19  :  35,  37 . 

111,  114 

7:2 . 

.  176 

4  :  23 . 

19  :  44 . 

. ...  377 

8  :  9,  ff . 

.  81 

5  :  12 . 

.  214 

20:7 . 

. ...  133 

11:1 . 

. . .217,  443 

6:5 . 

.  152 

20  :  8 . 

. ...  365 

12  :  27 . 

.  130 

6  :  13 . 

.  133 

INDEX  OF  SCRIPTURE  PASSAGES  469 


Kings — 

PAGE 

6  :  25 . 

.  158 

11,  12,  13,  14,  15 .  268 

11  :  12,  13.. 

.  195 

12  :  17 . 

.  91 

12  :  20 . 

.  189 

13  : 20,  21.. 

.  183 

14  :  7 . 

.  173 

14  :  8-14.... 

.  94,  95 

14  :  13 . 

.  196 

14  :  19 . 

.  89 

14  :  21 . 

.  367 

14  :23 . 

.  259 

15  :  1-27.... 

.  367 

15  :  19 . 

.  61,  62 

15  :  29 . 

.  370 

15  :  29,  30.. 

.  62,  369 

15  :  37 . 

.  367 

16  :  5-9 . 

. 367 

16  :  10 . 

.  369 

16  :  10-16. .. 

.  198 

16  :  14 . 

.  195 

17  : 3-5 . 

.  369 

17  :  4 . 

.  370 

17  :  5 . 

.  62,  123 

17  :  16 . 

.  370 

17  :  24 . 

. .124,  125, 370 

17  :  24-34. . 

.  100,  118 

18 . 

.  374,  375 

18:  1-6,  9... 

.  198 

18  :4 . 

.  171 

18  :  13 . 

.  44 

18  :  13-16... 

.  375 

18  :  13—19  : 

8 .  376 

18  :  14 . 

.  89 

18  :  14,  ff.... 

.  374 

18  :  17 . 

.  375 

18  :  32 . 

.  139 

19 . 

.  374,  375 

19  :  9 . 

.  31,  375 

19  :  9-36.... 

.  376 

19  :  35 . 

.  374 

19  :  36 . 

.  377 

19  :  37 . 

.  .. .44, 64, 378 

20  :  12 . 

.  63 

20  :  20 . 

.  198,377 

20  :  21 . 

.  378 

21 . 

.  378 

21  :  6 . 

.  172 

22  :  14 . 

.  199 

23  :5,  8.... 

.  169 

23  :  10 . 

.  172,  199 

23  :  29 . 

.  32,  96 

23  :  29,  ff.... 

.  379 

23  :  34 . 

.  32,  379 

24,  25 . 

.  . .44,  65,  380 

25  :  9,  10. . . 

.  200 

25  :  27  . 

.  381 

25  :  27-30... 

.  66 

Chronicles- 

1  :  30 . 

.  307 

1 :38 . 

1  Chronicles —  page 

1  :  40 .  308 

2  :  18 .  116 

4:8 .  116 

7  :  31 .  349 

8  :  12 .  Ill 

18  :  9,  ff .  82 

21  :  23 .  135 

23  :  4 .  315 

24  .  117 

29  :  7 .  163 

2  Chronicles — 

1  :  5,  6 .  195 

2:8 .  358 

3  :  1 .  168 

5:2 .  189 

11:5-10 .  90 

19  :  5-7 .  315 

33 .  64 

Ezra — 

1  .  386 

2  :  69 .  163 

3  :  12 .  201 

4:2 .  378 

4  :  10 .  379 

5  :  16 .  200 

8:27 .  163 

Nehemiah — 

1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7....  118 

1:1 .  47 

1:3 .  200 

2  :  10,  19 .  389 

3,  4,  5,  6 .  90 

3  :  13,  28 .  202 

4  :  1,  ff .  389 

6  :  1,  ff .  389 

7:2 .  390,  391 

7  :  37 .  Ill 

7  :  70-72 .  163 

11  :  25 .  Ill 

12  :  31-40 .  202 

13  :28 .  389 

Esther — 

1:2 .  47 

3  :  10,  12 .  157 

Job — 

1:3 .  108 

3:8 .  253 

9  :  13,  14 .  251 

12  :  7,  8 .  430 

26  :  12,  13 .  251,  252 

28  :  28 .  409 

29  .  395 

29  :  13 . 420 

31 .  395 

38  :  14 .  154 

39  :  13 .  139 

41 .  253 


Job —  page 

41  :  24 .  136 

42  :  4-6 .  395 

Psalms — 

6:3 .  400 

8 .  401 

17  :  1 .  400 

18  :  6 .  400 

19  .  401 

21  :  9 .  149 

68  :  4 .  147 

68  :  5 .  420 

74  :  10 .  400 

74  :  13,  14 .  282 

74  :  13,  14,  16,  17 .  252 

85  :  5 .  400 

87  :  4 .  254 

89  :  10 .  253 

90  :  7,  13 .  400 

104 .  406 

104  :  24 .  404 

137 .  200 

146,  147,  148 .  401 

Proverbs — 

1:9 .  156 

5:3 .  410 

6  :  9-11 .  411 

10  :  19 .  409 

10  :  26 .  411 

11  :  1 .  162 

13  :  3 .  409 

13  :  4 .  411 

14  :  3 .  409 

14  :  35 .  408 

17  :  28 .  409 

18  :  24 .  409 

20:23 .  162 

24  :  17 .  408 

24  :  21 .  409 

31  :  13 . 138 

31  :  31 .  129 

Ecclesiastes — 

7  :  15-17 .  409 

9:6-9 .  412 

9:9 .  410 

11  :  9 .  409 

Canticles — 

1  :  10 .  156 

2  :  13 .  136 

3:6 .  156 

4:1-7 .  414 

5:1 .  416 

6:2,3 . 416,465 

8  :  1-3 .  415 

Isaiah — 

1  :  13 .  259 

1  :  17,  23 .  420 

3  :  18 .  157 


470 


INDEX  OF  SCRIPTURE  PASSAGES 


Isaiah —  page 

3  :  19,  20 .  156 

5  :  1-8 .  137 

5  :  12 .  155 

6  .  418 

7:1 .  197 

7  :  1,  ff .  62 

7:3 .  198 

7  :  16 .  369 

8  :  1 .  154 

8:6 .  198 

9:1-6 .  422 

9  :  17 . 420 

10:2 .  420 

10  :  9.  .63,  81,  116,  361,371 

10  :  14 .  139 

10:28-32 .  372 

11  :  1-8 .  422 

11  :  6-9 .  284 

14  : 9-11 . 180,  422,  426 

15  :  1 .  116 

15  :  2,  4,  5 .  365 

19 .  389 

19:13 .  27 

19  :  19-22 .  38 

20:1 .  43,  372 

22  :  22 .  151 

27  :  1 .  253 

30  :  7 .  254 

31  :  5 . 64 

36  .  44 

36,37 .  63,374 

37:9 .  31 

37  :  38 .  378 

39  :  1 .  377 

40  :  12 .  158 

41  :  15 .  135 

44  :  28 .  383 

45  :  1 .  383 

47  :  8 .  420 

51:9 .  253 

57  :  3 .  172 

66  :23 .  259 

Teremiah — 

2  :  10 .  293 

2  :  16 .  27 

7:6 .  420 

7  :  31 .  172, 199 

15  :  8 .  420 

18  :  21 .  420 

22  :  3 .  420 

23  :  27 .  418 

23  :  29 .  153 

32  :  35 .  172 

36 .  32 

41  :  4,  5 .  200 

43:7,8 .  37 

43  :  8 .  38 

44  :  1 .  27,  37 

46  .  32,  65 

46:2 .  361 

46  :  2,  fi .  379 


Jeremiah —  page 

46  :  14,  19 .  27 

48  :  22-24 .  365 

49  :  11 .  420 

50  :  16 .  135 

Lamentations— 

4:3 .  139 

5  :  10 .  150 

Ezekiel — 

1:1 .  65,  66 

4:9 .  134 

4  :  12-15 .  149 

5  :  1,  2 .  152 

8  :  14 .  426,  427 

8  :  16 .  194 

16:3 .  77,349 

16  :  11 .  156 

16  :  45 .  349 

22  :  7,  25 .  420 

23  :  40 .  156 

27  :  6 .  293 

27:8,9 .  112 

30:13,  16 .  27 

30:17 .  31 

32  :  21-31 .  422,  426 

32:22-32 .  180 

43  :  13-17 .  198 

45  :  11,  14 .  158 

46:3 .  259 

Daniel — 

3  :  5,  15 .  155 

4  :  29 .  380 

5  :  11,  18 .  382 

5  :  25 .  160 

5:30,31 .  384 

8:2 .  47 

Hosea — 

2  :  5,  9 .  138 

2  :  11 .  259 

7  :4,  6,  7 .  150 

9:6 .  27 

Joel — 

3  :  13 .  135 

Amos — 

5  :  19 .  126 

6  :  2 .  116 

7  :  14 . 356 

8  :  1,  2 .  153 

8:5 .  162,  259 

9:7 .  116,  357 

Micah — 

1  :  14 .  92,  140 

6  :  15 .  136 

Nahum — 

3  :  8 . 31,  64 


Zephaniah—  page 

1  :  10,  11 .  199 

Zechariah — 

3:1 .  418 

4  .  201 

7  :  10 .  420 

Malachi — 

3:5 . ...  420 

Ecclesiasticus — 

50  :  1-4 . 203 

1  Maccabees — 

1  :  21,22 .  201 

1  : 33. . .  204 

5  :  37 .  215 

7  :  32,  33 .  204 

9  :  52 .  124 

13  :  48 .  128 

14  :  34 .  94 

14  :  36 .  204 

16  :  11 .  454 

Matthew — 

1:8 .  268 

3  :  12 .  135 

4 : 25 .  213,  218 

5  :  14 .  123,  429 

5  :  15 .  151 

5  :  26 .  165 

5  :  29 .  199 

6  :  30 .  149 

6  :  33 .  430 

7:5 .  428 

7:7 .  430 

7  :  24,  25 .  429 

10  :  26 .  431 

10:28 .  199 

10:29 .  165 

11  :  27 .  405 

12  :  1 .  132 

13  :  4 .  132 

13  :  57 .  408,  429 

14  :  3 .  165 

16  :  13 .  133 

19  :  24 .  151 

19  :  30 .  431 

22  :  19 .  165 

23  :  37 .  140 

24  :  41 .  135,  136 

25  :  1-12 .  148 

26:34,74 .  140 

26  :  36 .  137 

26  :  57 .  101 

28:2 .  184 

Mark — 

2  :  23 .  132 

4:4 .  132 

4  :  23 .  431 


INDEX  OF  SCRIPTURE  PASSAGES 


471 


Mark — 

PAGE 

5:1 . 

.  218 

5  :  20 . 

.  213,  218 

6:4 . 

.  429 

6  :  17 . 

.  165 

7  :  11 . 

.  159 

7:31 . 

.  213, 218 

8  : 27 . 

.  133 

10  :  12 . 

.  329 

10  :  25 . 

.  151 

10  :  31 . 

.  431 

12  :  15-17 . 

.  165 

12  :  41 . 

.  209 

12  :  42 . 

.  165 

13  :  35 . 

.  140 

13  :44 . 

.  430 

14  :  26 . 

.  211 

14  :  30,  68,  72.. 

.  140 

14  :  32 . 

.  137,  211 

16  :  3,  4 . 

.  184 

Luke — 

2  :  1-5 . 

.  432 

2:2 . 

.  434,437 

2:3-5 . 

.  435 

3  :  17 . 

.  135 

3  :  19 . 

.  165 

4  :  24 . 

.  429 

4  :  26 . 

.  133 

5:9 . 

.  430 

6:1 . 

.  132 

6  :  42 . 

.  428 

7  :4.5 . 

....98,454 

8:5 . 

.  132 

9  :  51-54 . 

.  119 

11  :47,  48 . 

.  183 

12  :  2 . 

.  431 

12  :  6 . 

.  165 

12  :  28 . 

.  149 

13  :  30 . 

.  431 

15  :  8 . 

.  165 

15  :  22 . 

.  157 

17  :  21 . 

.  430 

18 :25 . 

.  151 

20:36 . 

.  430 

21  :  1 . 

.  209 

21  :  2 . 

.  165 

22  :  34,  60 . 

.  140 

22  :  39 . 

.  211 

Luke —  page 

23  :  18,  21 .  206 

24  :  2 .  184 

John — 

2  :  20 .  208 

3  :  16,  36 .  431 

3  :  29 .  416 

4:5 .  133 

4:9,20 .  119 

4  :  44 .  429 

5:4 .  187 

5  :  24 .  431 

13  :  38 .  140 

18  :  1 .  211 

18  :  24 .  101 

18  :  27 .  140 

20  :  1,  12 . 184.461 

Acts — 

3  :  2 .  210 

8:27 .  39 

8:27-39 .  33 

9:11 .  214 

9  :  32 .  Ill 

12  :  23 .  377 

15,  16 .  440 

16  :  14 .  226 

17  :  6 .  438 

17  :  22-31 .  220 

17  :  23 .  438,  439 

17  :  27 .  178 

18  :  1 .  220 

18:4,7 .  221 

18  :  11 .  220,  440 

18  :  12 .  221,  439 

19  :  23-41 .  224 

20  :  15,  17 .  222 

20:35 .  431 

23  :  23,  24 .  133 

24:27 .  439 

26  :  14 .  135 

Romans — 

16  :  3-16 .  441 

1  Corinthians — 

1:4 .  441 

3  :  10-17 .  223 


1  Corinthians —  page 

14:7 .  155 

15  :  32 .  224 

2  Corinthians — 

1:46 .  441 

3  :  14 .  194 

11  :  32 . 174,  442,443 

Galatians — 

1  :  18 .  440 

2:1 .  440 

Philippi  a  ns — 

1  :  3,  9 .  441 

COLOSSIANS — 

1:3 .  441 

4  :  13 .  230 

1  Thessalonians — 

1:2 .  441 

3:9 .  441 

2  Thessalonians — 

1  :  3,  11 .  441 

2  :  13 .  441 

Philemon — 

4 .  441 

Hebrews — 

13  :  12 .  211 

3  John — 

2 .  441 

Revelation — 

2  :  10 .  230 

2  :  12 .  438 

2  :  13 .  225 

2  :  18-29 .  226 

3  :  1-6 .  227 

3:5 .  228 

3  :  12 .  229 

3  :  15,  16 .  230 

6  :  13 .  136 

21  :2,  9 .  416 


INDEX 


Abana,  214 

Abbi-Teshub,  makes  treaty  with  Mursil,  80 
Abdi-Hepa,  vassal  of  Amenophis  IV,  76 
Abi-Adda,  80 

Abraham,  sojourn  in  Egypt,  35;  purchase  of 
the  cave  of  Machpelah,  76;  home  in  Meso¬ 
potamia,  112;  sacrifice  of  Isaac,  172 
Abraham,  Babylonian  account  of  farmer  of 
this  name,  108,  290 
“Absalom’s  Pillar,”  183 
Abu  Haba,  Turkish  exploration  of,  46 
Abu  Shusheh  (Gezer),  93 
Abydos,  chief  town  of  This,  25 
Acts,  archaeological  light  on  the  book  of,  438 
Adab  (Bismya),  47,  57 
Adad-nirari  III,  King  of  Assyria,  53 
Adad-nirari  IV,  inscription  regarding  Syria  and 
Palestine,  61,  365 

Adam,  Biblical  account  of,  289;  Babylonian 
forms  of  the  name,  266 
Adapa  and  the  fall  of  man,  legend  of,  260 
Adime,  266 

“Admonitions  of  Ipuwer,  The,”  28 
Adzes,  153 

Ailia  Capitolina,  122,  212 

Africanus,  Julius  Sextus,  Chronigraphiai  of,  21 

Agade  (Sippar),  54,  57,  266 

Agricultural  implements,  134;  calendar,  138 

Agriculture,  134 

Ahab,  in  confederacy  against  Shalmaneser  III, 
61;  palace  of,  100;  pays  tribute  to  Tiglath- 
pileser  IV,  369 

Ahaz,  vassal  to  Tiglath-pileser  IV,  62;  altar  of, 
198 

Ahmose  I,  siege  of  Sharuhen,  110 
Ain  es-Sultan  (Elisha’s  Fountain),  98 
Ain  Kades,  95 

Ain  Shems  (Beth-shemesh),  94 
Ain  Sitti  Miriam,  see  Gihon. 

Akkad,  derivation  of,  58 
Akra,  203 
Alaparos,  271 

Alexander  Jannaeus,  120,  201,  205 
Alexander  the  Great,  empire  of,  33;  conquests 
of,  66;  death  of,  119 
Alexandra,  Asmonasan  queen,  120 
Alorus,  271 
Altar  of  incense,  173 
Amanus,  source  of  cedar,  58,  358 
Amelon,  271 
Amelu,  267,  271 


Amempsinos,  271 
Amenemhet  I,  76 
Amenemhet  III,  28 
Amenophis  I,  23,  110 
Amenophis  III,  60,  304 
Amenophis  III  and  IV,  29 
American  Exploration  Society,  86 
American  Palestine  Exploration  Society,  86 
American  School  of  Oriental  Research  in 
Palestine,  99 

American  School  of  Classical  Studies  at  Athens, 
221 

Amil-Marduk  (Evil-Merodach),  66;  inscription 
of,  381 
Amman,  218 
Ammenon,  271 

Ammienshi,  Amorite  chieftain,  108,  109 
Ammi-zadugga,  reign  of,  53 
Amorites,  conquests  of  the,  107 
Amosis  I,  29 
Amosis  II,  32 

Anderson,  H.  J.,  explorations  in  Palestine,  86 
Anderson,  J.  G.  C.,  inscription  discovered  at 
Antioch,  436 

Andrae,  W.,  exploration  at  Kalah-Sherghat,  47; 

inscription  of  Tukulti-Ninib,  52 
Animals,  representative  of  Egyptian  tribes,  24; 

domestic,  138 
Anklets,  157 
Antigonus,  120,  205 
Antiochus  III,  130 
Antiochus  IV,  203 
Antipas,  121 

Antiquities,  preservation  of  Egyptian,  19; 

of  Babylonian,  41 
Antonia,  fortress,  205 
Anu,  260 

Anubanini,  King  of  Lulubi,  57 
Apollophanes,  tomb  of,  183 
Arad- Sin,  King  of  Larsa,  58 
Aramaeans,  migration  of,  113 
Arandas,  successor  of  Subbiluliuma,  79 
Araunah  the  Jebusite,  168 
Archaeological  Institute  of  America,  99 
Archelaus,  121 
Areopagus,  220 
Aretas,  see  Haretat  IV. 

Arioch,  identified  with  Arad-Sin  and  Rim-Sin, 
58 

Aripi,  266 

Aristobulus  I  and  II,  120 


473 


474 


INDEX 


Arnuanta,  successor  of  Dudkhalky  81 
Arpad,  overthrow  of,  371 
Arrows,  153 

Artatama  I,  King  of  the  Mitanni,  77;  alliance 
with  Thothmes  IV,  77 
Artatama  II,  King  of  the  Harri,  78 
Artaxerxes,  inscriptions  of,  48 
Artaxerxes  III,  Jews  rebel  against,  66 
Asnrjik,  Hittite  remains  at,  70 
Asenath,  wife  of  Joseph,  33 
Asherim,  at  Tell  es-Safi,  169 
Ashmolean  Museum,  19 
Ashteroth-Karnaim,  215 
Ashtoreth,  figures  of,  at  Taanach,  173 
Ashur,  47,  60 

Ashurbanipal,  succeeds  Esarhaddon,  64;  his 
account  of  his  campaign  against  Tyre,  378; 
proverbs  from  library  of,  407 
Ashur-dan,  52 

Ashur-nasirpal  II,  records  of,  referred  to,  60; 
military  exploits  of,  61;  advance  toward 
Hebrew  territory,  360 
Ashur-rim-nishishu,  King  of  Assyria,  53,  60 
Ashur-uballit,  King  of  Assyria,  60 
Asia,  churches  of,  221 
Asmonaean  coins,  164 
Asmonseans,  120 

Assumptionist  Fathers,  excavations  at  Jeru¬ 
salem,  101;  collection  of  flint  implements,  103 
Assurbanipal,  invasion  of  Egypt,  31 
Assyria,  wars  with  Egypt,  31;  the  land,  40; 
explorations  in,  47;  relations  to  Babylonia, 
59;  early  period  of,  60;  second  period  of,  61 
Atbara,  18 

Athenae  Polias,  temple  of,  225 
Athens,  219 

Aton,  Egyptian  hymn  in  praise  of,  403 
Atys,  worship  of,  226 
Augustus,  temple  to,  at  Samaria,  178 
Awls,  152 
Axes,  152 

Azariah  (Uzziah),  367 
Azekah,  excavation  at,  90 
Aziru,  Amorite  king,  79,  113,  304 

Babylon,  capture  of,  383 
Babylonia,  the  land,  40;  exploration  by  Har¬ 
per  and  Banks,  47;  historical  periods,  55; 
early  period,  59;  Persian  period,  66;  psalms 
from,  398;  proverbs  from,  407 
Babylonian  column,  50 

Babylonian  creation  epic,  235,  247;  account  of 
the  flood,  273 

Babylonian  exile,  65;  termination  of,  118 
Bacchides,  Syrian  general,  124 
Bactria,  secedes  from  the  empire  of  the  Seleu- 
cidae,  67 

Bagoses,  general  of  Artaxerxes  III,  66 
Baking-trays,  150 
Balata,  102 

Ball,  C.  J.,  decipherment  of  Hittite  inscrip¬ 
tions,  71 

Banks,  Edgar  J.,  exploration  in  Babylonia,  47 


Barada,  214 
Bar  Chocaba, 121 
Baris,  castle  of,  204 
Barsalnunna,  267 
Baskets,  153 
Bath,  158 
Beads,  156 
Beautiful  gate,  210 
Bees,  139 

Behistun  inscription  of  Darius  1,  50 
Beit  Jibrin,  caves  at,  106 
Bel  (Enlil),  god  of  Nippur,  55;  Babylonian 
hymn  to,  401 

Belshazzar,  son  of  Nabuna’id,  382 
Ben-Hadad  in  league  with  Ahab,  61 
Benjamin  of  Tudela,  explorations  of,  42 
Beqa,  161 
Bergama,  224 

Berossos,  list  of  Babylonian  kings,  54;  Baby¬ 
lonian  priest,  247;  list  of  kings,  270 
Bethesda,  Pool  of,  210 
Beth-Ninib  (Beth-shemesh),  95 
Beth-shemesh,  excavations  at,  94;  capture  of, 
117;  walls  of,  125;  gates  of,  129;  burial  caves 
at,  180 

Bezetha,  hill,  212 
Birds,  139 

“Bishop  Gobat’s  School,”  191 
Bismya  (Adab),  mound  of,  47;  Luguldaudu, 
King  of,  57 

Blanche-Garde,  fortress  of  the  Crusaders,  91 
Bliss,  Frederick  J.,  excavations  at  Lachish,  89 
Boghaz  Koi,  excavations  at,  69;  Hittite  king¬ 
dom  at,  77;  the  “Hittite  City,”  78 
Bor  (Tyan),  82 

Bork,  Ferdinand,  studies  in  the  Mitanni 
language,  73 

Botta,  Paul  Emil,  exploration  of  Nineveh,  43 
Bowls,  150 
Bracelets,  156 

Breasted,  Henry  James,  accession  of  Mena,  23; 

Ancient  Records ,  Egypt,  76,  352 
British  Museum,  trustees  direct,  excavation  at 
Carchemish,  70 
Bruce,  James,  20 

Brugsch,  H.,  History  of  Egypt,  76;  inscrip¬ 
tion  at  Elephantine,  305 
Briinnow,  R.,  studies  in  the  Mitanni  language, 
71;  explorations  in  Edom,  88 
Bubastis,  capital  of  Shishak  dynasty,  31 
Bulghar-Maden,  Hittite  remains  at,  70 
Burckhardt,  J.  L.,  explorations  in  Palestine,  85 
Burial  customs,  180 
Burnaburiash,  60 
Burnouf,  Eugene,  50 

Butler,  H.  C.,  explorations  in  Syria,  102,  note; 
excavations  at  Sardis,  228 

Cab, 158 

Cain,  list  of  descendants,  269 
Cairo,  17,  19 

Calah,  made  capital  of  Assyria,  60 
Calendar,  138 


INDEX 


475 


Calvary,  site  of,  211 

Cambyses,  son  of  Cyrus,  32;  extends  power  of 
Persia,  66 

Canaanites,  migration  of  the,  109 
Capernaum,  identification  of,  98 
Caphtor,  home  of  the  Philistines,  115,  116 
Captivity,  Babylonian,  65 
Carchemish,  excavations  at,  70;  alliance  with 
Assyria,  81 

Carthaginian  law  regarding  sacrifices,  342 
Cataracts  of  the  Nile,  18 
Cave-dwellers,  142,  187 
Caves  of  the  stone  age,  104 
Chaldaean  Empire,  65 

Champollion,  Jean  Francois  (Le  Jeune),  21,  22 
Chaplin,  Thomas,  description  of  weight  from 
Samaria,  160 

Charles,  B.  B.,  explorations  in  Asia  Minor,  70; 

Travels  and  Studies  in  the  Nearer  East,  73 
Chateaubriand,  explorations  in  Palestine,  85 
Chedorlaomer,  295 
Cheops,  25 
Child  sacrifice,  172 
Chisels,  152 

Chosroes  II,  captures  Jerusalem,  122 

Christian  Nubians,  39 

Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher,  211 

Churches  of  Asia,  221 

Cistern  burial,  180 

Cities,  topography  of  Palestinian,  123;  situated 
near  springs,  186 
City  gates,  129 
Clark,  Herbert,  160 

Clay,  A.  T.,  Babylonian  Texts  from  the  Yale 
Collection,  384 

Clermont-Ganneau,  explorations  in  Palestine, 
88,  89,  198;  Moabite  Stone,  363 
Code  of  Hammurapi,  313 
Coins,  162;  Roman,  165 
“Columbarium,”  182 
Combs,  156 

Conder,  Lieut.-Col.  C.  R.,  The  Eitlites  and 
Their  Language,  72;  survey  of  Palestine,  88 
Constantine,  interest  in  holy  places,  84,  85,  122 
Constantinople,  tablets  hoarded  in,  48 
Cor  (Homer),  158 
Corinth,  220 

Corners,  considered  sacred,  128 
Cossaeans,  see  Kassites. 

Creation,  epic  of,  235,  454;  compared  with  first 
chapter  of  Genesis,  247;  second  account  of, 
found  at  Babylon,  255;  compared  with  sec¬ 
ond  chapter  of  Genesis,  256;  new  Baby¬ 
lonian  account  of,  446;  another  Sumerian 
account  of,  462. 

Creation  and  flood,  Nippur  account  of,  278 
Cremation,  179 

Crcesus,  temple  of,  223;  wealth  of,  227;  over¬ 
thrown  by  Cyrus  the  Great,  163,  383 
Cromlech  (heap  of  stones),  104 
Cros,  Gaston,  explorations  of,  45 
Crucifixion,  site  of  the,  211 
“Cuneiform”  characters,  origin  of,  56 


Curtis,  Samuel  Ives,  discovery  at  Petra,  102 
Cybele,  worship  of,  226;  temple  of,  228 
Cyprus,  seal  of  Sargon  found  in,  57 
Cyrus  the  Great,  founder  of  Persian  empire,  32; 
conquests  of,  66;  overthrows  Croesus,  163, 
383;  captures  Sardis,  227;  inscription,  385 

Dalman,  Gustaf  H.,  explorations  in  Petra,  88 

Damascus,  213,  248,  369 

Danaoi,  migration  of,  115 

Daniel,  book  of,  384 

Daonos  (Daos),  271 

Daphne,  38 

Darics,  163 

Darius  I,  rule  in  Egypt,  32;  inscriptions  of,  48; 

extends  power  of  Persia,  66;  coinage  of,  163 
Darius  the  Mede,  384 

David,  conquests  of,  117,  118;  captures  Jebus, 
188;  Tower  of,  206 
Decapolis,  description  of,  213 
Delitzsch,  Friedrich,  development  of  Hittite 
grammar,  74 

Deutscher  Paldstina-Verein,  96 
Dilmun,  283 
Dion,  216 

Domazewsky,  Alfred  von,  explorations  in 
Edom,  88 

Domestic  animals,  138 
Doorway  tombs,  182 
Dor,  excavations  at,  117 
Drachma,  165 

Drovetti.  M.,  collection  of,  22 
Dudkhalia,  successor  of  Hattusil  II,  81 
Dfldu, 304 
Dulcimer,  155 
Dumuzi,  271 
Dung  Gate,  202 
Dungi,  King  of  Babylonia,  58 
Dushratta,  a  king  of  Mitanni,  69;  two  El- 
Amarna  letters  from,  71;  contemporary  with 
Amenophis  IV,  77;  death  of,  78 
“Dynastic  tablets,”  52 

Ea,  260 

Eannatum,  King  of  Lagash,  56 

Early  Assyrian  period,  60 

Early  Babylonian  period,  59 

Earth-graves,  181 

Ebed-Ashera,  Amorite  king,  113 

Ebed-Hepa,  187;  letters  of,  345;  history  of,  349 

Ecbatana,  visited  by  Rawlinson,  50 

Ecclesiastes,  parallel  to,  412 

Ecclesiasticus,  203 

Eclipse  at  Nineveh,  51 

Egypt,  the  land,  17;  history  of,  21,  23;  division 
of,  24;  Roman  period,  33;  Hyksos  invasion 
of,  34;  period  of  the  Oppression  and  the 
Exodus,  35;  Jewish  colony  in,  387;  psalms 
from,  402;  parallels  to  Song  of  Songs  from, 
413;  social  conscience  in,  418;  wisdom  litera¬ 
ture  of,  421 

Elam,  invasion  of,  during  reign  of  Kurigalzu, 
59 


476 


INDEX 


EI-Amarna  letters,  35,  60;  from  Dushratta,  69; 
Palestinian  cities  mentioned  in,  112;  source 
of  information  regarding  Jerusalem,  187; 
selections  from,  303;  from  Rib-Adda  of 
Gebal,  344;  from  Ebed-Hepa  of  Jerusalem, 
345;  reflecting  conditions  in  Palestine,  348 
Elamites,  subjugated  by  Eannatum,  56;  invade 
Babylonia,  60 

Elephantine,  papyri  discovered  at,  37,  387 
El-Gib,  130 
Elisha’s  Fountain,  98 
“Eloquent  Peasant,  The,”  28,  418 
El-Wad,  185 

Eni-Teshub,  King  of  Carchemish,  81 
Enlil,  279;  see  also  Bel. 

Enmeduranki,  King  of  Sippar,  266,  271 
Enmeirgan,  267 
Enmenunna,  267 

Enoch,  identified  with  Etana,  266 
Enosh,  267 
En-rogel,  186 

Enrolment  of  Quirinius,  432 

Entemena,  successor  of  Eannatum,  57 

Enu-ilu,  King  of  Hamath,  82 

Ephah,  158 

Ephesus,  221 

Ephraim,  gate  of,  202 

Epic  of  creation,  text  of,  235 

Epiphanius,  on  measures,  158,  159 

Epistles,  archaeological  light  on  the,  440 

“Eponym  Canon,”  359 

“Eponym  Lists,”  51 

Erech,  exploration  at,  44,  47;  dynasties  of,  54; 

founding  of,  55 
Eridu,  55,  283 

Esarhaddon,  invasion  of  Egypt,  31;  succeeds 
Sennacherib,  64;  money  in  reign  of,  163; 
kings  conquered  by,  378 
Eski  Hissar,  230 

Etana,  266;  identified  with  Abel,  270 
Etruscans,  relation  to  Lydians,  227 
Euedorachos,  271 
Eumenes  I,  224 
Euphrates  river,  40 

Eusebius,  Chronicon  of,  21;  list  of  Palestinian 
names,  85,  133 

Evil-Merodach  (Amil-Marduk),  66;  inscription 
of,  381 

Exile,  Babylonian,  65;  termination  of,  382 
Eye-paint,  156 

Eyuk,  Hittite  monuments  at,  78 
Ezekiel,  65 

Fahl,  216 

Famine,  the  seven  years  of,  305 

Feast  of  Marduk  and  Zarpanit,  258 

Feeding-bottles,  150 

Fibulae,  156 

Files,  153 

Fish  Gate,  199 

Fish-hooks,  154 

Flesh-hooks,  151 


Flood,  Babylonian  account  of,  273;  comparison 
with  the  Biblical  account  of,  277;  second 
Babylonian  account  of,  277 
Forks,  151 

Foundation  sacrifices,  128 
Fountain  Gate,  202 
Fraktin,  Hittite  remains  at,  70 
Fruits,  136 

“Furnaces,  Tower  of  the,”  202 

Gadara,  216 

Gallio,  439 

Galumum,  266 

Gate,  see  descriptive  name. 

Gateways,  129 

Gath  (Tell  es-Safi),  91;  walls  of,  124 
Gebal,  excavations  at,  117 
Gebel  Fureidis,  121,  131 
Gennath,  gate  of,  211 

Genouillac,  H.  de,  exploration  at  Ukhaimir,  48 
Gerasa,  topography  of,  123,  216 
Gerizim,  Mount,  119 
Germer-Durand,  Pere,  159 
Gethsemane,  Garden  of,  137,  210 
Gezer,  excavations  at,  92;  caves  at,  104;  walls 
of,  109,  124;  besieged  by  Merneptah,  115; 
captured  by  the  Hebrews,  117;  gates  of,  129; 
pottery  at,  142,  145;  weights  found  at,  160; 
sanctuary  at,  167;  high  place  of,  169;  temple 
at,  175;  tombs  at,  179 
Giaour- Kalesi,  Hittite  remains  at,  70 
Gibeon,  water  supply  of,  130 
Gihon,  springs  at,  87,  186;  caves  at,  101,  106 
Gilgal  (menhirs  set  in  a  circle),  104;  burial  in, 
180 

Gilgamesh,  epic,  256 
Glassware,  150 
Gobryas,  384 
Golgotha,  site  of,  211 

Gordon,  Gen.  C.  E.,  suggestion  regarding 
Golgotha,  211 
Granaries,  134 
Green,  William  Henry,  269 
Grenfell,  B.  P.,  and  A.  S.  Hunt,  discovery  of 
Oxyrhynchus  papyri,  39,  428 
Griffith,  F.  L.,  39 
Grinding,  135 

Grotefend,  Georg  Friedrich,  interpretation  of 
inscriptions  found  at  Persepolis,  49 
Gudea,  ruler  at  Lagash,  58;  rebuilds  Eninnfi, 
358 

Guerin,  H.  V.,  explorations  in  Palestine,  86 
Gurun,  Hittite  remains  at,  70 
Guthe,  H.,  excavations  in  Jerusalem,  96 
Gutium,  dynasty  of,  54;  hordes  from,  overrun 
Babylonia,  58 
Gyges,  dynasty  of,  163 

Habiri,  113,  188,  349 

Hadrian,  restores  Jerusalem  under  name  of 
Ailia  Capitolina,  212 

Haggai,  assists  in  rebuilding  the  temple,  118 


INDEX 


477 


Hamadan  (Ecbatana),  visited  by  Rawlinson, 
50 

Hamath,  Hittite  kingdom  at,  81;  overthrow  of, 
371 

Hammeah,  tower  of,  202 
Hammers,  153 

Hammurapi,  laws  of,  47;  King  of  Larsa,  53, 
58;  conqueror  of  Babylonia,  59;  conquest  of 
the  “west  land,”  108;  identified  with  Am- 
raphel,  294;  code  of,  313 
Hananel,  tower  of,  202 
Hananiah,  Passover  letter  of,  390 
Haran,  possibly  a  Hittite  capital,  77 
Haretat  IV,  Nabathaean  king,  174;  besieges 
Jerusalem,  205;  inscription  regarding,  442 
Harper,  Robert,  exploration  in  Babylonia,  47 
Harps,  155 

Harri,  become  part  of  Subbiluliuma’s  kingdom, 
78 

Hasmonaeans,  see  Asmonceans. 

Hattusil  I,  King  of  Boghaz  Koi,  78 
Hattusil  II,  successor  of  Mutallu,  69,  80 
Hawara,  28 

Haynes,  John  H.,  Babylonian  explorations  of, 
46 

Head,  B.  V.,  date  of  ancient  coins,  162 
Hebrews,  migration  of,  116 
Hebron,  possessed  by  the  Hittites,  76 
Helena,  mother  of  Constantine,  211 
Helena  of  Adiabene,  tomb  of,  183 
Heliopolis,  35 
Hens,  139 

Herod  Agrippa  I,  121 

Herod  the  Great,  rebuilds  the  Jewish  temple, 
121;  capture  of  Rabbah  Ammon,  130;  coin¬ 
age  of,  165;  building  in  Jerusalem,  205 
Herodotus,  on  early  navigation,  32;  on  wars 
between  Egypt  and  Assyria,  32;  comparison 
with  2  Kings,  376 

Hezekiah,  threatened  by  Sennacherib,  63,  374; 

improvements  made  by,  198 
High  places,  167 

Hill,  G.  F.,  on  Palestinian  coins,  164 
Hilprecht,  Herman  V.,  Babylonian  explora¬ 
tions  of,  46 
Hin,  158 

Hincks,  Edward,  50 
Hinnom,  valley  of,  185,  199 
Hippacus,  tower  of,  206,  212 
Hippos,  215 

Hittites,  invade  Babylonia,  59;  monuments  of, 
68;  theories  concerning,  68;  ethnology  of,  74; 
history  of,  75 
Hoes,  134 

Homer,  The  Odyssey,  79 
Homer,  a  measure,  158 

Hophra,  lures  Judah  to  destruction,  32;  palace 
of,  at  Memphis,  37 
Horam,  King  of  Gezer,  117 
Horites,  106 

Horse,  domestication  of  the,  74 
Horse  Gate,  202 

Hoshea,  rebels  against  Assyria,  62,  369 


Houses  in  ancient  Palestine,  126 
Howe,  Fisher,  suggestion  about  Golgotha,  211 
Hull,  Edward,  geological  survey  of  the  valley 
of  the  Dead  Sea,  89 
Human  sacrifice,  172 

Hunt,  A.  S.,  discovery  of  Oxyrhynchus  papyri, 
39,  428 

Huntington,  Ellsworth,  95 
Hyksos,  invasion  of  Egypt,  28,  34,  110;  pos¬ 
sibly  Hittites,  75 
Hystaspes,  father  of  Darius,  49 

Ilu-bidi  (Yau-bidi),  82 

Ilumailu,  founder  of  the  second  dynasty  of 
Babylon,  59 

Ilu-shumma,  King  of  Assyria,  52 
Ina-uzni-eresu,  267 
Ipuwer,  Egyptian  sage,  421 
Irad, 270 

Irhulina,  King  of  Hamath,  82 
Ishmi-Dagan,  52 

Ishtar,  on  coins,  163;  Babylonian  prayer  to, 
399 

Israel,  the  northern  kingdom,  118 
“Israel,”  name  found  in  Babylonia,  452 
Ivriz,  Hittite  remains  at,  70 

Jacob,  historical  study  of  the  name,  299 
Jacobel,  111,  112 
Jars,  142 
Jebus,  188 

Jehoahaz,  deposed  by  Necho,  32 
Jehoash,  breaks  wall  of  Jerusalem,  196 
Jehoiachin,  imprisoned  by  Nebuchadrezzar, 
66 

Jehoiakim,  rebellion  of,  65 
Jehu,  pays  tribute  to  Shalmaneser  III,  61 
Jensen,  Peter,  studies  in  the  Hittite  and  the 
Mitanni  languages,  7 1 

Jerabis,  site  of  ancient  Carchemish,  Hamath, 
etc.,  71,  72 

Jerash,  temple  at,  178;  ruins  at,  217 
Jericho,  excavations  at,  98;  walls  of,  109; 
capture  of,  117;  topography  of,  123;  area  of, 
125;  remains  of  buildings,  127 
Jeroboam,  30;  name  on  seal,  359 
Jerome,  Onomasticon,  85,  133 
Jerusalem,  sieges  and  destruction  of,  65;  cap¬ 
tured  by  Orodes  I,  120;  besieged  by  Pompey, 
120;  destroyed  by  Titus,  121;  captured  by 
the  Persians,  122;  passes  under  Moham¬ 
medan  control,  122;  area  of,  126;  water 
suppy  of,  130;  rock  altar  at,  168;  topography 
of,  185;  in  the  time  of  Solomon,  190;  de¬ 
struction  of,  by  Nebuchadrezzar,  199; 
walls  of,  rebuilt,  202;  capture  of,  by  Ptolemy 
I,  203;  during  the  Asmonaean  period,  204; 
construction  during  reign  of  Agrippa  I,  212 
Jesus,  in  the  Decapolis,  218;  reputed  sayings 
of,  found  in  Egypt,  428 
Jewish  colony  in  Egypt,  387 
Joab,  captures  Rabbah,  217 
Job,  Babylonian  parallel  to,  392 


478 


INDEX 


John  Hyrcanus,  conquers  Samaria  and  Edom, 
100,  120;  coinage  of,  165;  builds  palace  in 
Jerusalem,  204;  supplies  Jerusalem  with 
water,  205 

John  Hyrcanus  II,  120 

Johns,  C.  H.  W.,  163 

Jordan,  Julius,  exploration  at  Warka,  47 

Joseph,  texts  bearing  on  story  of,  33,  303; 

historical  study  of  the  name,  300 
Josephel,  111,  112 

Josephus,  story  of  Onias,  38;  on  measures,  158 
Joshua,  conquest  of  Palestine,  117 
Jovanoff,  Alexander,  numismatist  of  Con¬ 
stantinople,  70 

Judah,  the  southern  kingdom,  118 
Judas  Maccabaeus,  119 
Judges,  period  of,  352 
Justus,  house  of,  221 

Kadashman-turgu,  60 
Kadesh,  battle  at,  80 

Kadesh-Barnea,  identification  of,  disputed,  95 
Kalah-Sherghat,  exploration  at,  47 
Kanatha,  215 

Kara-Bel,  Hittite  remains  at,  70 
Karaburna,  Hittite  remains  at,  70 
Kara  Dagh,  Hittite  remains  at,  70 
Karaindash,  King  of  Babylon,  53,  60 
Karanog,  exploration  of,  39 
Kara  Su,  69 
Karnak,  temple  of,  37 

Kassites,  invade  Babylonia,  59;  migration  of 
the,  109 
Kenan,  267 
Keys,  151 
Khafre,  26 
Khartum,  18 

Khattu  land,  name  given  to  Hittite  settlement 
in  Cappadocia,  75 
Kheta,  see  Hittites. 

Khnum,  305 
Khufu  (Cheops),  25 
Kidron,  valley  of,  185 
King  list  of  Karnak,  etc.,  22 
Kings,  books  of,  archaeological  light  on,  358 
King’s  Gardens,  189 
Kish,  exploration  at,  48;  dynasty  of,  54 
Kitchener,  H.  H.,  Major  and  Lord,  survey  of 
Palestine,  88;  surveys  in  Arabia,  89 
Kizil  Dagh,  Hittite  remains  at,  70 
Klein,  F.  A.,  363 
Knives,  152 

Knudtzon,  J.  A.,  Die  El-Amarna  Tafeln,  303 
Kok  (shaft),  182 

Koldewey,  Robert,  Babylonian  exploration, 
46,  65 

Kudur-Mabug,  295 

Kugler,  Franz  Xaver,  astronomical  calculation 
relating  to  Assyrian  chronology,  53 
Kukukumal,  297 
Kummukh,  Hittite  kingdom,  82 
Kurigalzu,  invasion  of  Elam  during  reign  of, 
59 


Labyrinth,  28 

Lachish,  excavations  at,  89;  walls  of,  124 
Lagash,  47;  founding  of,  55;  colonists  from, 
found  Ashur,  47,  60 

Lamartine,  A.  M.,  explorations  in  Palestine,  85 
Lamech,  267 

Lamentation  for  Tammuz,  426 
Lamp-stands,  151 

Langdon,  Stephen,  Sumerian  Epic  of  Paradise, 
the  Flood,  and  the  Fall  of  Man,  283 
Laodicea,  230 

Larsa,  kings  of,  53;  divided  power  with  Nisin, 
58 

Lassen,  Christian,  50 

Lawrence,  T.  E.,  explorations  in  the  wilder¬ 
ness  of  Zin,  95 

Layard,  Austen  Henry,  explorations  of,  43; 

discoveries  at  Nineveh,  64,  71 
Lebanon,  copper  from,  58 
Leontopolis,  Jewish  temple  at,  38 
Lepton,  165 

Letters  from  Palestine,  344 
Leviticus,  alleged  parallel  to,  342 
Library  of  Ashurbanipal  at  Nineveh,  64 
Liverpool,  University  of,  directs  Hittite  ex¬ 
ploration,  70 

Loftus,  William  Kennett,  explorations  of,  44 
Log, 158 
Lotan,  109 

Lowenstern,  Isidore,  50 

Lugaldaudu,  statue  of,  48;  King  of  Adab,  57 

Lugalzaggisi,  54,  57 

Lydia,  origin  of  coinage  in  (?),  163;  kingdom  of, 
226 

Lynch,  Lieut.  W.  F.,  explorations  in  Palestine, 
86 

Lyon,  D.  G.,  excavations  at  Samaria,  100 
Lyres,  155 

Macalister,  Alexander,  anatomist,  105 
Macalister,  R.  A.  Stewart,  excavations  at 
Gezer,  92;  conjecture  regarding  walls  of 
Gezer,  124 

Maccabaean  period,  203 
Maccabees,  119 

Maclver,  R.,  exploration  at  Karanog,  39 
Mackenzie,  Duncan,  excavations  at  Beth- 
shemesh,  94 

Magan,  conquered  by  Naram-Sin,  57;  quarries 
at,  58 
Magdol,  34 
Mana,  160 

Manasseh,  vassal  of  Esarhaddon  and  Ashur¬ 
banipal,  64 

Manetho,  Egyptian  priest,  21 
Manishtusu,  King  of  Kish,  47 
Manissia,  Hittite  sculptures  and  remains  near, 
77,  79 

Marash,  Hittite  remains  at,  70,  92 
Marduk,  central  figure  in  Babylonian  creation 
epic,  247 

Marduk  and  Zarpanit,  feast  of,  258 
Marduknadinakhi,  King  of  Babylon,  51,  52 


INDEX 


479 


Margolis,  Max  L.,  meaning  of  Pint,  161 
Mars’  Hill,  220 

Masterman,  E.  W.  G.,  estimate  of  Parker’s  ex¬ 
cavations,  101 

Mattiuaza,  made  king  of  the  Mitanni,  78 
“Maudsley’s  Scarp,”  90,  191 
Measures,  158 

Medeba,  taken  by  Omri,  365 
Megalaros,  271 

Megiddo,  battle  of,  32;  excavations  at,  96; 
wall  of,  109;  topography  of,  123;  area  of,  126; 
remains  of  buildings,  128;  gates  of,  129; 
rock  altar  at,  168;  temple  at,  176;  seal  found 
at,  359 

Melamkish,  267 
Memphis,  capital  of  Egypt,  27 
Mena,  accession  of,  23;  reign  of,  25 
Menahem,  62 

Menant,  Joachim,  decipherment  of  Hittite 
inscriptions,  71 

Menhir  (stone  columns),  104;  burial  in,  180 
Menkaure,  26 
Men-nofer,  27 

Merneptah,  successor  of  Ramses  II,  30; 
Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus,  37;  siege  of  Gezer, 
114,  115;  pillar  of,  311 

Merodachbaladan,  takes  the  throne  of  Babylon, 
63;  relations  with  Hezekiah,  377 
Meroe,  32,  39 

Merrill,  Selah,  explorations  in  Palestine,  86 
Meruitensi,  420 
Meselim,  King  of  Kish,  56 
Mesha,  King  of  Moab,  170,  363 
Meskingashir,  267 
Mesopotamian  Valley,  40 
Messerschmidt,  L.,  studies  in  the  Mitanni 
language,  72 
Methuselah,  267 

Meyer,  Edward,  accession  of  Mena,  23;  origin 
of  the  Philistines,  357 
Meyer,  Rudolph,  map  of  Palestine,  86 
Middle  Kingdom,  period  of  (Egypt),  27 
Migdol,  34 
Miletus,  222 
Millo,  189,  190 
Millstones,  136 
Mina,  160 

Mitanni,  69;  kingdom  of,  77 
Mite,  coin,  165 
Moabite  Stone,  363 

Mohammedans,  prevail  in  Palestine,  122 
Money,  162 

Monoliths,  at  Gezer,  170 
Mordtmann,  A.  D.,  account  of  Hittite  inscrip¬ 
tions,  70 

Moresheth-Gath  (Marash),  70,  92 
Morgan,  J.  de,  exploration  at  Susa,  47,  313 
Moriah,  Mount,  168;  site  of  the  temple,  192 
Mortars,  136 

Mosaic  Code,  not  borrowed  from  the  Baby¬ 
lonians,  340 
Mosque  of  Omar,  168 
Moulton,  W.  J.,  100 


Mount,  see  descriptive  name. 

Mukes,  216 

Muller,  W.  Max,  origin  of  the  Hittites,  69 
Mursil,  successor  of  Arandas,  79;  makes  treaty 
with  the  Amorites,  80;  death  of,  80 
Mutallu,  successor  of  Mursil,  80 
Mutu-elu,  267 
Mutu-sa-elu,  267 
Mutu-salal-eqla,  267 

Nabathaeans,  174 
Nabopolassar,  65 

Nabuna’id,  King  of  Babylon,  54,  55;  inscrip¬ 
tions  of,  382 
Nails,  153 

Names,  Sumerian,  with  Semitic,  Babylonian, 
and  Hebrew  equivalents,  268 
Napata,  31 

Napoleon  I,  invasion  of  Egypt,  20 
Naram-Sin,  54,  57 

Naville,  E.,  excavation  of  Pithom,  35 
Nebuchadrezzar  I,  King  of  Babylon,  60 
Nebuchadrezzar  II,  defeats  Necho,  32,  65; 

destroys  Jerusalem,  199;  inscriptions  of,  379 
Necho,  32,  65,  379 
Necklaces,  156 
Needles,  151 

Nehemiah,  rebuilds  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  202 

Nehushtan,  171 

Neo-Babylonian  period,  65 

Neolithic  implements,  103 

Nicanor’s  gate,  210 

Niebuhr,  Carsten,  inscriptions  at  Persepolis,  49 
Nile,  17 

Nineveh, explored  by  Botta,  Place,  and  Layard, 
43;  by  Rassam  and  Loftus,  44;  by  George 
Smith,  45;  eclipse  at,  51;  Ashurbanipal’s 
library  at,  64 
Ninkharsag,  279,  289 

Nippur,  exploration  of,  46;  founding  of,  55; 
account  of  creation  and  flood  discovered  at, 
278;  account  of  the  origin  of  a  city  and  the 
beginning  of  agriculture,  283 
Nisin,  53,  54,  58 
Noah,  268,  287 

Nomes,  divisions  of  Egypt,  24 
Noph,  27 
Norden,  F.  L.,  19 
Nubians,  Christian,  39 
Nuffar,  exploration  of,  46 

Odoric,  49 

Odyssey,  The,  referred  to,  79 
Old  Gate,  202 
Olive-presses,  137 
Olives,  Mount  of,  211 

Olmstead,  A.  T.,  explorations  in  Asia  Minor,  70 

Omar,  Mosque  of,  168 

Omer,  158 

Omri,  100,  365,  366 

On,  35;  priest  of,  founder  of  fifth  dynasty,  26 
Onias,  38 

Onomasticon,  by  Jerome,  85,  133 


480 


INDEX 


Ophel,  excavations  on,  102;  topography  of,  123 

Opis,  dynasty  of,  54 

Oppert,  Jules,  explorations  of,  44,  50 

Orient-Gesellschaft,  Babylonian  exploration,  46 

Ornaments,  personal,  156 

Oman,  168 

Orodes  I,  King  of  Parthia,  120 
Osorkon  II,  30 
Otiartes,  271 
Ovens,  149 

Oxyrhynchus,  papyri  from,  39,  428 

Paine,  John  A.,  explorations  in  Palestine,  86 
Palaces  of  ancient  Palestine,  127 
Palaeolithic  implements,  103 
“Palermo  Stone,”  22 

Palestine,  physical  geography  of,  83;  Moham¬ 
medans  invade,  122 
Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  87 
Papyri,  discovered  at  Elephantine,  37;  at 
Oxyrhynchus,  39,  428 
Papyrus  Ebers,  23 
Parchment,  origin  of  the  word,  224 
Parker,  Capt.,  the  Hon.  Montague,  excavations 
in  Jerusalem,  101 

Parthia,  secedes  from  the  empire  of  the 
Seleucidae,  67 

Pashe  dynasty,  succeeds  the  Kassite  dynasty, 
60 

Paton,  L.  B.,  excavations  in  Jerusalem,  100 
Patriarchs  before  the  flood,  264 
Paul,  scene  of  his  missionary  activity,  219 
Payim,  161 

Peiser,  F.  E.,  decipherment  of  Hittite  inscrip¬ 
tions,  71 
Pekah,  62,  369 
Peleset  (Philistines),  356 
Pella,  114,  216 

Pentateuch,  Code  of  Hammurapi  compared 
with,  313;  laws  of,  not  borrowed  from 
Babylonia,  340 
Perfume-boxes,  156 
Pergamum,  222,  224 
Persepolis,  inscriptions  at,  49 
Persia,  languages  of  ancient,  48 
Persian  period  of  Babylonia,  66 
Persians,  dominant  in  Palestine,  122 
Pesibkhenno  II,  30 

Peters,  John  P.,  Babylonian  explorations  of,  45; 

discovery  at  Beit  Jibrin,  102 
Petra,  173,  174 

Petrie,  William  Matthew  Flinders,  excavation 
at  Tell  el-Yehudiyeh,  34,  38;  discovery  of 
Raamses,  36;  of  Hophra’s  palace,  37;  ex¬ 
cavation  at  Tell  Defenneh,  38;  at  Lachish, 
89;  Egyptian  Tales,  302 
Phaestos,  disc  discovered  at,  115,  357 
Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus,  30,  311 
Philadelphia,  123,  217,  228 
Philadelphus,  33 

Philetaerus,  King  of  Pergamum,  224 
Philip,  son  of  Herod  the  Great,  121 
Philistia,  83 


Philistines,  migration  of,  115;  civilization  of, 
117;  Ramses  III,  reference  to,  356;  Meyer’s 
opinion  of  origin,  357 
Phoenicians,  weight  standards  of,  160 
Pilate,  Pontius,  121 
Pilikam,  267,  271 
Pillar  of  Memeptah,  311 
Pillars,  at  Tell  es-Safi,  169;  at  Taanach,  173 
Pint,  161 

Pinches,  Theophilus  G.,  tablets  from  Erech, 
384 

“Pipe,”  musical  instrument,  155 
Pithom,  34,  35 

Place,  Victor,  explorations  of,  43 
Plows,  134 
Pococke,  R.,  19 

Poebel,  Arno,  54,  267,  271,  278 

Politarchs,  of  Thessalonica,  438 

Pompey,  siege  of  Jerusalem,  120,  205 

Pool  of  Bethesda,  210 

Pools  of  Solomon,  131 

Potiphar,  34 

Pottery,  141 

Pre-Babylonian  period,  56 

Prophets,  character  of  the  Hebrew,  417 

Proverbs,  parallels  to  book  of,  407 

Psalms,  from  Babylonia  and  Egypt,  398 

Psammetik  I,  31 

Psammetik  II,  387 

Psephinus,  tower  of,  212 

Ptahhotep,  precepts  of,  409 

Ptolemaic  period,  32 

Ptolemy  I,  captures  Jerusalem,  203 

Ptolemy,  Claudius,  king  list  compiled  by,  51 

Ptolemy  Lagi,  33,  119 

Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  33 

Puchstein,  Otto,  discoveries  at  Boghaz  Koi,  70 

Pul,  61 

Pumpelly,  Raphael,  explorations  in  Turkestan, 
74 

Put-akhi,  Amorite  king,  80 
Pyramids,  25 

Qarqar,  61 
Quadrans,  165 

Quirinius,  archaeological  light  on  enrolment  of, 
432 

Raamses,  built  by  the  Israelites,  35 
Rabbah  Ammon,  rebuilt  and  renamed  by 
Philadelphus,  33;  topography  of,  123;  site  of 
Philadelphia,  217 

Ramsay,  Sir  William  Mitchell,  view  of  Quirin¬ 
ius’  enrolment,  434 

Ramses  II,  29,  35,  69;  treaty  with  Hattusil,  69; 
conquests  in  northern  Syria,  80;  Palestinian 
rule  of,  114 
Ramses  III,  30,  115 
Ramses  IV,  IX,  XII,  30 
Raphana,  215 

Rassam,  Hormuzd,  explorations  of,  44,  45,  64 
Rawlinson,  Sir  Plenry  C.,  explorations  of,  44, 
50,  51 


INDEX 


481 


Rehoboam,  30;  opposed  by  Shishak,  118 
Reisner,  G.  A.,  excavations  at  Samaria,  100 
Renan,  Ernest,  explorations  in  Palestine,  86 
Rephaim, 104 
Reservoirs,  130 
Retenu  (Lotan),  109 
Rich,  Claude  James,  explorations  of,  42 
Richardson,  Rufus  B.,  excavations  at  Corinth, 
221 

Rim-Sin,  King  of  Larsa,  58 
Rings,  finger,  157;  money,  162 
Roads,  132 

Robinson,  Edward,  explorations  in  Palestine, 
85 

Robinson,  George  L.,  discovery  at  Petra,  102 
“Robinson’s  Arch,”  87,  204 
Rockefeller,  John  D.,  47 
Roman  rule  of  Egypt,  33 
“Rosetta  Stone,”  20 

Sacrifices  in  foundations,  128;  human,  172; 

Carthaginian  law  concerning,  342 
Sacy,  Sylvestre  de,  interpretation  of  Sassanian 
inscriptions,  49 

Sakje-Geuze,  excavations  at,  75 
Samal,  kingdom  of,  81 

Samaria,  siege  of,  62;  excavations  at,  100; 
topography  of,  123;  remains  of  palaces  at, 
127;  temple  at,  178 
Samaritans,  origin  of,  118 
Samsuiluna,  King  of  Larsa,  53 
Sarbut  el-Khadem,  28 
Sardis,  226,  228 

Sargon  of  Agade,  54,  57;  conquests  of,  63,  107; 
legend  of,  310 

Sargon  of  Assyria,  besieges  Samaria,  63,  369 
Sarzec,  Ernest  de,  explorations  of,  45 
Sassanian  dynasty  of  Persia,  49,  67 
Saturninus,  Sentius,  437 
Saul,  reign  of,  117 
Saws,  152 

Sayce,  A.  H.,  theories  regarding  Hittites,  68; 

decipherment  of  Hittite  inscriptions,  70,  73 
“Scarp,  Maudsley’s,”  191 
Scheil,  V.,  exploration  of,  46,  54 
Schick,  Dr.  Conrad,  discoveries  in  Jerusalem, 
207 

Schmidt,  Nathaniel,  explorations  in  Palestine, 
100 

Schumacher,  Gottlieb,  explorations  in  Pales¬ 
tine,  88;  excavations  at  Megiddo,  96,  124 
Scythians  threaten  Assyria,  64 
Scythopolis,  214 
Seah,  158 

Seals,  154;  found  at  Megiddo,  359 
Sebaste,  see  Samaria. 

Second  Assyrian  period,  61 
Sela,  173 

Seleucus,  King  of  Babylonia,  67 

Sellin,  Ernst,  excavations  at  Taanach,  97,  124; 

excavations  at  Jericho,  98 
Semites,  first  inhabitants  of  Mesopotamia,  55 
Sendjirli,  excavations  at,  69 


Seneferu,  25 

Sennacherib,  31;  discovery  of  seal  at  Babylon, 
52;  succeeds  Sargon,  63;  his  account  of  his 
campaigns,  372 
Seplel,  see  Subbiluliuma. 

Septuagint,  translation  of,  33 

Sesostris,  monarchs  of  Middle  Kingdom,  27 

Seth,  267;  list  of  descendants,  269 

Seti  I,  29;  campaigns  against  Palestine,  86; 

conquests  in  Asia,  114 
Shabatum,  259 
Shaft  tombs,  181 
Shalmaneser  I,  60 

Shalmaneser  III,  campaigns  of,  61;  oppression 
of  Palestine,  360 
Shalmaneser  V,  62 
Shamash-shumukin,  64 
Shamshi-Adad,  52 
Shamshi-Adad  IV,  61 
Shamsu-ditana,  King  of  Babylon,  75 
Shamsu-iluna,  successor  of  Hammurapi,  108 
Sheba,  381 

Shechem,  captured  by  Sesostris  III,  28;  ex¬ 
cavations  at,  102 
Sheep  Gate,  202 
Shema,  seal  of,  176 
Sheol,  423 

Shephelah,  borderland  between  Judaea  and 
Philistia,  90,  94,  186 
“Shepherd  Kings,”  28 
Sheshonk,  see  Shishak. 

“Shinar”  (Sumir),  58 

Shishak,  30;  record  of  his  campaign  in  Pales¬ 
tine,  37,  118, 359 
Shithu-elu,  267 
Shur,  95 
Shushan,  47 

Shutarna  I,  successor  of  Artatama  I,  77 
Siamon,  30 

Sicilians,  migration  of,  115 
Sickles,  135 
Siloah,  189 

Siloam  inscription,  377 
Simon  the  Maccabee,  coinage  of,  164 
Sin,  the  moon-god,  Babylonian  hymn  to,  400 
Sinuhe,  adventures  of,  108,  307 
Sippar  (Agade),  temple  at,  54 
Smith,  Eli,  explorations  in  Palestine,  85 
Smith,  George,  explorations  of,  45 
Smyrna,  Hittite  sculptures  and  remains  near, 
76,  79;  general  account  of,  229 
Solomon  marries  daughter  of  Pharaoh,  30: 
empire  of,  118;  Pools  of,  131,  205;  buildings 
of,  192 

Song  of  Songs,  Egyptian  parallels  to,  413;  a 
Babylonian  parallel,  464 
“Sothic  Cycle,”  22 
Spatulae,  for  eye-paint,  156 
Spears,  154 
Sphinx,  26 

Spinning  “whorls,”  151 
Spoons,  150 

Springs,  favorite  sites  for  cities,  186 


482 


INDEX 


“Stele  of  the  vultures,”  56 
Step  Pyramid,  25 
Stone  age  in  Palestine,  103 
Styli,  154 

Subbiluliuma,  extends  power  of  the  Hittites. 
77;  deposes  Sutatarra,  78;  Amorites  con- 
qured  by,  113 

Sumerian,  early  language  of  Babylonia,  51 
Sumerian  names,  with  Semitic,  Babylonian, 
and  Hebrew  equivalents,  268 
Sumerians,  ethnology  of,  56 
Sumir,  derivation  of,  58 
Sun-god,  Egyptian  hymn  to  the,  402 
Susa,  exploration  at,  47 
Sutarna  II,  King  of  the  Harri,  78 
Sutatarra,  successor  of  Dushratta,  78 
Swords,  154 

Synagogue  floor  inscription  at  Ain  Duk,  453 
“Synagogue  of  the  Hebrews”  in  Corinth,  221 
Sypilus,  Mount,  70 

Taanach,  excavations  at,  97;  walls  of,  124; 
buildings  at,  127;  pillars  and  altar  of  in¬ 
cense  at,  173;  letter  from,  350 
Tabu-utul-Bel,  395 
Takku,  287,  288,  289,  448 
Tahpanhes,  castle  at,  37 
Talbot,  Fox,  50 

Tale  of  the  Eloquent  Peasant,  418 
Tale  of  Sinuhe,  307 
Tale  of  the  Two  Brothers,  300 
Tamerlane,  227 
Tammuz,  lamentation  for,  426 
Tanut-amon,  31 
Tashji,  Hittite  remains  at,  70 
Taylor,  J.  E.,  explorations  of,  44 
Tell  Defenneh,  38 
Tell  el-Hesy  (Lachish),  89,  110 
Tell  el-Jazar,  excavations  at,  92 
Tell  el-Judeideh,  excavations  at,  91 
Tell  el-Retabeh,  site  of  Raamses,  36 
Tell  el-Yehudiyeh,  38 
Tell  es-Safi,  91,  110,  124,  169 
Tell  Hum  (Capernaum),  98 
“Tell  of  the  Jewess,”  38 
Tell  Sandahanna  (Marash),  92;  weight  found 
at,  162 

Tell  Taanek,  see  Taanach. 

Tell  Zakariya  (Azekah),  90 
Temple,  Solomon’s,  site  of,  168;  description  of, 
193;  building  of  the  second,  200;  Herod’s,  207 
Temple  at  Gezer,  175 
Temple  to  Augustus  at  Samaria,  178 
Temple  of  Jewish  colony  in  Egypt,  387 
Thakut,  34 
Thebes,  nome  of,  27 
Thekel,  migration  of,  115,  116 
Thenius,  Otto,  suggestion  regarding  Golgotha, 
211 

Thessalonica,  politarchs  of,  438 
Thiersch,  Hermann,  discovery  at  Beitjibrin, 
102 


This,  nome  of,  25 

Thompson,  R.  Campbell  decipherment  of 
Hittite  inscriptions,  73 
Thothmes  I,  raids  through  Palestine,  110 
Thothmes  III,  29,  77,  111 
Thothmes  IV,  alliance  with  Artatama  I,  77 
Threshing,  135 
Thyatira,  226 
Ti,  tomb  of,  26 
Tidmat,  248,  251 
Tiberius,  coinage  of,  165 
Tiglath-pileser  I,  51,  60 
Tiglath-pileser  IV,  conquests  of,  61,  366 
Tigris  river,  40 
Timur  (Tamerlane),  227 
Tirhakah,  31,  64 
Titus,  destroys  Jerusalem,  121 
Tiuman,  King  of  Elam,  417 
Tobler,  Titus,  explorations  in  Palestine,  86 
Toi,  King  of  Hamath,  81 
Tombs,  181 

“Tombs  of  the  Judges,”  182 
“Tombs  of  the  Kings,”  183,  212 
Topheth,  199 
Tou,  see  Toi. 

Towers,  202 
Toys,  155 

Trajan,  133;  organizes  province  of  Arabia^ 
174 

Travel,  between  Babylonia  and  Palestine,  293 
Trumbull,  Henry  Clay,  identification  of 
Kadesh-Barnea,  95 
Tukulti-Ninib  I,  52,  60 
“Turin  Papyrus,”  22 
Two  Brothers,  Tale  of  the,  300 
Tyana,  Hittite  capital,  82 
Tyropoeon  valley,  199 

Ukhaimir,  exploration  at,  48 

Umm  Keis,  216 

Ummanu,  267 

Uni,  officer  of  Pepi  I,  107 

University  Museum,  Philadelphia,  53,  54 

Upper  Retenu,  109 

Ur,  founding  of,  55;  kings  of,  53,  54,  58 
Urkagina,  King  of  Lagash,  57 
Ur-Nina  founds  dynasty  at  Lagash,  56 
Utensils,  149 
Uzziah,  196,  367 

Valley  Gate,  202 

Van  Dyke,  Henry,  reference  to  Felix,  429 
Vincent,  Hughes,  99,  101 
Vineyards,  137 

Wady  Maghara,  turquoise  mines  in,  25 
Walls  of  Palestinian  cities,  109,  123,  125,  202 
Ward,  William  Hayes,  Babylonian  explora 
tions  of,  45 

Warka,  exploration  at,  47 


INDEX 


483 


Warren,  Gen.  Sir  Charles,  excavations  at 
Jerusalem,  87;  at  Gihon,  101 
Water  Gate,  202 
Water  supply  in  Palestine,  129 
Weidner,  Ernst,  74 
Weights,  160 

Weil,  Captain,  excavations  on  Ophel,  102 
Wenamon,  report  of,  117,  352 
Whetstones,  153 
White  Wall,  27 

Wilderness  of  Zin,  explorations  in,  95 
Winckler,  Hugo,  excavations  at  Boghaz  Koi, 
69,  79;  first  instalment  of  the  El-Amarna 
letters,  71 

Winckler  und  Abel,  Thoutafelnfund  von  El- 
Amarna,  303 
Wine-vats,  137 
Winnowing,  135 

Wisdom  of  Jesus,  the  Son  of  Sirack,  203 
Wood,  J.  T.,  discoveries  in  Ephesus,  223 
Woolley,  C.  Leonard,  75,  95 
Wrench,  J.  E.,  explorations  in  Asia  Minor,  70 
Wright,  William,  The  Empire  of  the  Eittites,  68 


Xerxes,  inscriptions  of,  48 
Xisouthros,  271 
Xystus,  203 

Yadi,  kingdom  of,  81 
Yaila,  Hittite  remains  at,  70 
Yakut,  Arabian  geographer,  217 
Yau-bidi,  King  of  Hamath,  82 
Yaudi,  identity  of,  371 
Year,  divisions  of,  138 

Zamama,  temple  of,  48 
Zaphenath-Paneah,  34 

Zechariah,  assists  in  rebuilding  the  temple, 
118,  200 

Zedekiah,  rebellion  against  Babylon,  32, 
65 

Ziggurat  of  Zamama  temple,  48 
Zin,  explorations  in  the  wilderness  of,  95 
Zion,  site  of  Jebus,  188 
Ziugiddu,  280 

Zoser,  first  king  of  third  dynasty,  25,  305 
Zugagib,  266 


PLATES 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  1 


Fig.  1.  Syrian  Traders  in  Egypt,  from  a  Tomb  at  Beni  Hasan. 


Fig.  2.  Crown  of 
Lower  Egypt. 


Fig.  3.  Crown  of 
Upper  Egypt. 


Fig.  4.  Crown  of 
United  Egypt. 


Fig.  5.  Sphinx  and  Pyramid  of  Khafre. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  2 


Fig.  6.  Pyramids  of  Khufu  and  Khafre. 


Fig.  7.  Step  Pyramid  of  Zoser. 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  3 


Fig.  8.  Body  from  a  Pre-dynastic  Tomb.  Fig.  9.  Head  of  the  Mummy  of  Ramses  II. 


ARCHEOLOGY  AND  THE  BlBLE 


Plate  4 


-v-v . ' 


Fig.  10.  A  Store-Chamber  at  Pithom  ( after  Naville). 


Fig.  11.  Ancient  and  Modern  Brick-Making  ( after  Petrie). 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  5 


Fig.  13.  A  Passover-Oven  ( after  Petrie ) 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  6 


Fig.  14.  The  Rosetta  Stone.  Fig.  15.  The  “Israel”  Inscription  of  Merneptah. 

By  permission  of  Thomas  Nelson  &  Sons. 


Plate  7 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Fig.  16.  Mounds  of  Nuffar  ( after  Clay). 


Fig.  17.  Excavation  at  Nuffar  ( after  Clay ) 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


P LATE  8 


Fig  t3.  Gate  of  Ishtar,  Babylon  ( after  KolJeway). 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  9 


Ft",  ??. 


Ti'ouxn  or  N'nrRUD  ( after  Pete rr) 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  10 


Fig.  23.  Hittite  Gates  at  Boghaz  Koi  (after  Puchstein). 


Fig.  24.  Hittite  Types  from  Egyptian  Monuments  ( after  Garstang ) 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  11 


Fig.  25.  A  Hittite  King  (after  Puchstein). 


Fig.  26.  The  Boss  of  Tarkondemos. 


Fig.  27.  The  Seal  of  Shema,  Ser¬ 
vant  of  Jeroboam. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  12 


Fig.  28.  Tell  el-Hesy  after  Excavation. 


Fig.  29.  The  Site  of  the  Old  Testament  Jericho. 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  13 


Fig.  30.  Excavation  of  Gezer. 


Fig.  31.  Remains  of  a  Colonnaded  Street  at  Samaria. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  14 


Fig.  33.  Egyptians  Attacking  a  Palestinian  City  ( after 
Per  rot  and  Chipiez). 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  15 


Fig.  34.  Israelitish  Jericho  ( after  Sellin). 


Fig.  35.  Israelitish  Houses  at  Jericho  ( after  Sellin) 


% 


i 


i 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  16 


Fig.  36.  Philistines  from  the  Palace  of  Ramses  III. 


Fig.  37.  Canaanitish  Fortress  at  Jericho  ( after  Sellin ) 


4; 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  17 


Fig.  38.  — Inscribed  Disc  from  Dh^estos  ^one-fourth  actual  size). 


Fig  39. 


C.EBEL  FUREIDIS. 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  18 


Fig.  40.  Bastion  for  the  Protection  of  an  Inserted  Tower  ( after  Macalister ). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  41.  Remains  of  Walls  of  Megiddo  ( after  Schumacher) 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  19 


Fig.  42.  Walls  of  Buildings  at  Samaria  ( after  Reisner). 


f>/  <, ; 

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Fig.  43.  Specimens  of  Stone-Work  at 
Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 


Fig.  44.  Bitilding-Brtcks  from  Gezer 
( after  M acaliste  ■ ) . 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fun  I. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  20 


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Archeology  axd  the  Bible 


Plate  21 


Fig.  47.  Israklitish  Houses  at  Gezer. 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  48.  Specimens  of  Mosaic  Floors  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Arcileology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  22 


Fig.  49.  A  Doorway  at  Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  50.  Door-Sockets  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  23 


Frn.  51.  Supposed  House  of  Hiel,  Jericho  {after  Selim). 


Fro.  52.  Foundation  of  the  Palace  of  Omri,  Samaria  (after  Reisner). 


Fig.  53.  Hebrew  Palace  at  Megiddo  ( after  Schumacher) . 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  24 


Fig.  54.  Plan  of  the  Maccab.ean  Castle  at  Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  55.  Stone-Work  of  the  Maccab^an  Castle  (after  Macalister ). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  56.  A  Foundation-Deposit.  Gezer  (after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  25 


Fig.  57.  A  City  Gate  at  Megiddo  {after  Schumacher). 


__  _  v  »w 

v  1  11  u  *  - - -v  ,  J 

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Fig.  58.  The  South  Gate  at  Gezer  ( after 
Macalister ). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  59.  The  South  Gate  at  Beth- 
SHEmesh  ( after  Mackenzie). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  26 


Fig.  60.  Entrance  to  the  Underground  Tunnel  at  Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  61. — The  North  Gate  at  Gezer  (after  Macalister). 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


w? vm. 


Archaeology  and  thf.  Bible 


Plate  27 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  28 


coupe  brcu\sversa.(e  sur  ah,/ 
*  (ichelU  d^rancUe)  ■ 


*-  '  A\:'  >V 


•2.  (Loujoe  longiludinctle  Sur  l  axe.  du  luwxeL  (section  ^exlerieurc 

V  non  mesuree J 


rr.-s  ><■&, 

n  ’  cayerne  servant  o  30' _ »  Jr 

gQcfe  c hcuvbre  d'eau’  1  1  1  -  ^ 

’itr 1  rii^ 

T~cP^r 


Fig.  63.  Plan  of  Underground  Tunnel  at  Gibeon  ( after  Abel). 


Fig.  64.  One  of  Solomon’s  Pools. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  29 


Fig.  65.  Post  of  City  Gate,  Samaria  ( after  Reisner). 


Fig.  66.  Part  of  City  Wall  and  Gate,  Samaria  ( after  Reisner ) 


Arcbleology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  30 


Fig.  67.  Road  South  or  Geriztm. 


Fig.  68.  Lines  of  Roman  Roads  at  Tell  el-Ful. 


Fig.  69.  Roman  Road  North  of  Amman. 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  31 


Fig.  70.  A  Granary  at  Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 
Bv  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


-empty 

~  torn 
~  e/n ... 


Fig.  72.  Plan  of  a  Granary  at  Gezer  ( after 
Macalister). 


Fig.  71.  Some  Roman  Mile-Stones. 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


I 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  32 


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tr  to 
so 


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Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  33 


Fig.  78.  A  Modern  Threshing-Floor.  Fig.  80.  Egyptian  Threshing-Sledge  ( after  Wilkinson). 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  34 


Fig.  81.  A  Saddle-Quern  from  Megiddo  {after  Schumacher) . 


Fig.  82.  A  Rotary-Quern  ( after 
Macalister). 

Bv  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  83.  A  Mortar  and  Pestle  (after 

Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  84.  Two  Women  Grinding  at  a  Mill  (after  Schumacher',. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  35 


Fig.  85.  An  Ancient  Olive-Press  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  86.  A  Modern  Olive-Press  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  36 


Fig.  87.  A  Wine  Vat  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  88.  An  Olive-Press  at  Work  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  37 


Fig.  89.  Cows’  Horns  from  Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  90.  Animals’  Heads  from  Gezer  {after  Macalister). 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  91.  A  Horse’s  Bit  from  Gezer 
{after  Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  92.  Drawings  of  Horses  from 
Gezer  {after  Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  3S 


Fig.  93.  A  Clay  Bird  from  Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  94.  A  Cock  from  Marissa  ( after  Peiers 
and  Thiersch). 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  95.  A  Bee-Hive  from  Gezer  ( after 
Macalister). 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  39 


Fig.  96.  Pre-Semitic  Jars  ( after  Macalister). 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  98.  Four  Pitchers  from  the  First  Semitic  Stratum  ( after  Macalister ). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  99.  Three  Pitchers  from  the  First  Fig.  100.  A  Jar  from  the  First  Semitic 
Semitic  Stratum  {after  Macalister).  Stratum  {after  Macalister ). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund.  By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  40 


Fig.  101.  Jugs  from  the  Second  Semitic  Stratum  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  102.  A  Jug  from  the  Second  Semitic  Stratum 
{after  Macalister). 


Fig.  103.  A  Jar  from  the  Sec¬ 
ond  Semitic  Stratum  {after 
Macalister). 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  41 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  42 


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Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  43 


Fig.  112.  Hebrew  Jars  and  Pitchers  from  Jericho  ( after  Fig.  113.  Hebrew  Pitchers  and  Bowls  from  Jericho  ( after 

Sellin).  Sellin). 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  44 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  45 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  46 


Fig.  123.  Hellenistic  Strainer  from  Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  124.  Roman  Pots  from  Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  125.  Hellenistic  Jar  from  Gezer 
{after  Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  126.  A  Lamp  of  the  First  Semitic 
Period,  Megiddo  {after  Schumacher). 


I 


* 


t 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  47 


* 


Fig.  127.  Lamps  from  the  Second  Semitic  Period,  Gezer  (after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  128.  Lamps  from  the  Israelitish  Period, 
Gezer  (after  Macalister ). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  129.  A  Byzantine 
Lamp  from  Jericho  (after 
Sellin). 


4>6X:XY<f€NmCIN 
<mXYI®eVCt±MOY 
6I00N  A  0-°\PH 

hu/o<®aua/w<wiaw 

©ID 

©cw®Wyoa> 


Fig.  130.  A  Lamp  bearing  a  Christian  Legend  (after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  48 


Fig.  131.  Hellenistic  Lamps  from  Gezer  (after  Macalisler). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  132.  Hebrew  Lamps  from  Jericho  (after  Sellin). 


9 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  49 


Fig.  134.  A  Baking-Tray  from  Gezer  (after 
Macalister). 


Fig.  135.  Bronze  Dishes  from  Gezer  ( after 
Macalister). 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


O  t  1  cm 


Fig.  136.  Shell  Spoons  from  Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  50 


Fig.  137.  Silver  Dishes  from  a  Philistine  Grave  at  Gezer  {after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  138.  Glass  Ointment  Vessels  from  Gezer  {after  Macalister ). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  51 


Fig.  142.  Bronze  Needles  and  Pins  from  Gezer  ( after 

Fig.  140.  Forks  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister).  Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund.  By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  52 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  145.  Spindle  Whorls  from  Gezer 
(after  Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  144.  Modern  Woman  Spinning. 
By  permission  of  Mrs.  Grant  Williams. 


Fig.  146.  A  Large  Key  from  Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  147.  A  Smaller 
Key  from  Gezer  ( after 
Macalister).  . 

By  permission  of  Palestine 
Exploration  Fund. 


I 


Plate 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Fig.  148.  Lamp- Stands  from  Meciddo  {after  Schumacher). 


Fig.  149.  Flint  Knives  from  Jericho  ( after  Sellin) 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  54 


Fig.  150.  Iron  Knives  from  Gezer  ( after  Macalister).  Fig.  151.  Bronze  Knives  from  Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund.  By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  55 


Fig.  152.  A  Chisel  from  Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  153.  A  File  from 
Gezer  (after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration 
Fund. 


Fig.  155.  A  Bronze  Hammer- 
Head,  Gezer  (after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Explora¬ 
tion  Fund. 


Fig.  154.  A  Cone  of  Flint  for  making  Knives,  Gezer 
( after  Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  157.  A  Bone  Awl-Handle  from  Gezer  ( after 

Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  158.  Whetstones  from  Jericho  (after  Sellin). 


Fig.  156.  A  Fish-Hook,  Gezer 
(after  Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Explora¬ 
tion  Fund. 


Fig.  159.  Nails  from  Gezer  ( after 
Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Explora¬ 
tion  Fund. 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  56 


Fig.  160.  Axe-Heads  from  Gezer  ( after  Macalister).  Fig.  161.  Carpenters’  Tools  from  Gezer  ( after 

Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund.  By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  57 


Fig.  163.  Impression  of  a  Basket  on  Mud,  *  Fig.  164.  Flint  Arrow-  Fig.  165.  Bronze  Arrow-Heads  from  Gezer  ( after 

Gezer  ( after  Macalister).  Heads  from  Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 

Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund.  By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund.  By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  5S 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  59 


Fig.  168.  A  Pipe  from  Gezer  ( after  Macalister).  Fig.  169.  An  Egyptian  Ha rp  (.after  Eaupt). 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  170.  An  Assyr-  Fig.  171.  An  Assyrian 
ian  Upright  Harp  Horizontal  Harp  ( after 
(after  Eaupt).  Eaupt). 


Fig.  173.  Jewish  Harps  on  Coins  of  Bar  Cocheba, 
132-135  a.  D.  (after  Madden). 


Fig.  172.  A  Babylonian  Harp 
(after  Eaupt). 


Fig.  174.  Assyrian  Dulcimer 
(after  Eaupt). 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  60 


Fig.  175.  Seals  from  Gezer 
(after  Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  176.  A  Comb  from  Gezer  ( after 
Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  177.  Toys  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  178.  Styli  from  Gezer  (after  Macalister).  Fig.  179.  Children’s  Rattles  from 

Gezer  (after  Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund.  By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


» 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  61 


Fig.  180.  A  Perfume-Box,  Gezer  ( after 
Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  181.  A  Necklace  from  Gezer  ( after 
Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  182.  Bracelets  from  Gezer  ( after 
Macalister). 


Fig.  183.  Spatula  from  Gezer  ( after 
Macalister). 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund.  By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  184.  Rings  from  Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  62 


Fig.  185.  Supposed  Hebrew  Measures  from  Jerusalem  ( after  Germer -Durand). 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  63 


Fig.  186.  A  Neseph  Weight. 


Fig.  187.  A  Payim  Weight  belonging 
to  Haverford  College. 


Fig.  188.  A  Beqa  Weight  ( after  Toney). 


Fig.  189.  A  “Daric”  of 
Darius  (after  Benzinger). 


Fig.  190.  A  Tetradrachma  of  Alexander  the  Great  ( after  Benzinger). 


Fig.  191.  A  Coin  of  Ptolemy  Lagi  (after  Benzinger). 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  64 


Fig.  192.  Half-Shekel  of  Simon  the  Maccabee 
{after  Benzinger). 


Fig.  193.  A  Coin  of  John  Hyrcanus 
(after  Madden). 


Fig.  194.  Tetradrachma  of  Lysimachus. 


Fig.  195.  A  Coin  of 
Augustus. 


Fig.  196.  A  Denarius  of  Tiberius. 


Fig.  197.  A  Coin  of  Claudius. 


Fig.  198.  A  Coin  of  Herod  the  Great. 


Fig.  199.  A  Roman  Quadrans  (?). 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  65 


Fig.  202.  Cave-Dwellers’  Place  of  Sacrifice,  Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Funda 


Fig.  203.  Plan  of  Caves  at  Semitic  High  Fig.  204.  “Pillars”  of  the  High  Place  at 
Place,  Gezer  ( after  Macalister).  Gezer. 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  66 


Fig.  205.  Rock-Altar  at  Megiddo  (after  Schumacher). 


Fig.  206.  The  “Beth-el”  of  Gfzer  ( after 
Macalisler). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  207.  The  Supposed  Serpent-Pen  at 
Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  67 


Fig.  208.  The  Rock-Altar  at  Jerusalem  {after  Dalman). 


Fig.  209.  The  Laver  at  Gezer  (after  Macalister). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  68 


Fig.  210.  The  Terra-cotta  Altar  from  Taanach  ( after  Sellin).  Fig.  211.  Supposed  High  Place  at  Taanach  (after  Sellin). 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  69 


Fig.  212.  High  Place  at  Tell  es-Safi  ( after  Bliss  and  Macalister). 
By  Permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  213.  Libation  Bowl  from  Taanach 
{after  Sellin). 


Fig.  214.  An  Astarte  Plaque  from 
Gezer  {after  Macalister). 


By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  70 


Fig.  215.  Plan  of  the  High  Place  at  Petra  (after  Briinnow). 


Fig.  216.  Plan  of  Herod’s  Temple  at  Samaria  ( after  Lyon). 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  71 


Fig.  217.  The  Altar  at  Petra  (after  Briinnow). 


Fig.  219.  Supposed  “Pillars”  at  Petra  ( after  Briinnow). 


Arcileology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  72 


Fig.  220.  Plan  of  Supposed  Semitic  Temple  at 
Gezer  ( after  Macalister). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  73 


■m- 


Fig.  222.  “Pillars”  of  a  Supposed  Temple,  Gezer  ( after  Macalister ). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  223.  Chapel  of  the  Palace  at  Megiddo  ( after  Schumacher) 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  74 


Fig.  224.  Voluted  Capital  (probably  Philistine)  from  Megideo  (after  Schumacher). 


Fig.  225.  Incense-Burner  from  Megiddo  ( after  Schumacher) 


t 


■ 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  76 


Fig.  230.  A  Columbarium  at  Petra  ( after  Dalman). 


Fig.  231.  Entrance  to  the  Tomb  of  the  Judges. 


1 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  77 


Fig.  232.  A  Sunken-Door  Tomb  ( after  Mitt.  u.  Nach.  d.  Deutsch.  Palastina-Vereins). 


Fig.  233.  Kokim  in  the  Tomb  of  the  Judges. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  78 


Fig.  234.  Plan  of  a  Hellenistic  Tomb  at  Marissa  ( after  Peters  and  Thiersch). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Wmmm 

n 

1» 

Fig.  235.  A  Cross-Section  of  the  Tomb  of  the  Judges. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  79 


/\ 

/\ 

nj 

n 

/\ 

Tomu  1 — Through  Chambers  B  and  C,  looking  East. 


Fig.  236.  Architectural  Decoration  of  a  Hellenistic  Tomb  at  Marissa  ( after  Peters  and 

Thiersch). 

By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  237.  Plan  of  the  Upper  Floor  of  the  Tomb  of  the  Judges. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  80 


Fig.  238.  A  Tomb  with  a  Rolling-Stone  at  Beit  Jibrin  ( after  Moulton). 


Fig.  239.  Interior  of  a  Hellenistic  Tomb  at  Marissa  ( after  Peters  and  Thiersch ). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  81 


iSail^A  UOJPJH 

uoiz 

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noaodojAx 


1ITH  aJOJsaM 


raoauiH  jo  AajicA 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  82 


Fig.  241.  Underground  Jebusite  Tunnel  at  Gihon,  Jerusalem  ( after  Vincent). 


Fig.  212.  Maudsley’s  Scarp,  Jerusalem. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  83 


Fig.  243.  Plan  of  Solomon’s  Buildings,  Jerusalem  ( after  Stade). 


Fig.  244.  Phoenician  Quarry-Marks,  Jerusalem  ( after  Warren). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Archeology  and  the  Bibli 


Plate  84 


Fig.  245.  Shaft  at  the  Southeast  Corner  of  the  Temple  Area  ( after  Warren). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


Fig.  246.  Examining  Ancient  Walls  in  an  Underground  Tunnel  ( after  Warren). 
By  permission  of  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


rvvw 


Ajrcileology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  85 


Fig.  248.  Side  Views  of  Solomon’s  Temple  ( after  Stade). 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  86 


Fig.  249.  Plan  of  Solomon’s  Temple  ( after  Stade). 


Fig.  250.  The  Sevf.n-branched  Lamp-Stand  from  the  Arch  of  Titus, 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  87 


Fig.  251.  The  Brazen  Laver  of  Solomon’s  Temple  ( after  Stade). 


% 


Fig.  252.  A  Portable  Laver  of  Solomon’s  Temple  ( after  Stade). 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  88 


Fig.  253.  Stone-Work  oe  a  Wall  or  Jerusalem  built  Fig-  254-  Stone-Work  in  Nehemiah’s  Wall, 

in  the  Fifth  Century  a.  d.  Jerusalem. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  89 


Fig.  255.  Restoration  of  the  Asmon.ean  Bridge  over  the  Tyropceon  Valley  (after  Hanauer). 


Fig.  256.  Front  of  “David’s  Tower”  (Herod’s  Palace)  Today  ( after  Breen). 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  90 


Fig.  257.  Reconstruction  of  Herod’s  Temple  ( after  Caldecott). 


Fig.  258.  “Solomon’s  Stables.” 


\ 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  91 


Fig.  259.  One  of  the  Supposed  Pools  of  Bethesda  ( after  Fig.  260.  Front  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sep 

Hanauer). 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


£3 

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Plate  92 


Fig.  261.  “Gordon’s  Calvary,”  looking  toward  Jerusalem  ( after  Breen). 


Fig.  262.  “Gordon’s  Calvary,”  from  the  City  Wall  (after  Breen ) 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  93 


Fig.  263.  Outside  of  “Gordon’s  Holy  Sepulcher”  ( after  Breen). 


Fig.  264.  Inside  of  “Gordon’s  Holy  Sepulcher”  (after  Breen). 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  94 


Fig.  265.  The  Barada  (Abana),  Damascus. 


Fig.  266.  The  Street  Called  Straight,  Damascus. 


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. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  95 


Fig.  267.  Palace  at  Kanatha  ( after  Briinnow). 


Fig.  268.  Circular  Forum  and  Colonnaded  Street,  Gerasa. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  96 


Fig.  269.  Temple  of  the  Sun,  Gerasa. 


Fig.  270.  Site  of  Rabbah  Ammon. 


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Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  97 


Fig.  271.  Theater  at  Amman  (Palestinian  Philadelphia). 


Fig.  272  Roman  Forum  at  Athens. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  98 


Ftg.  273.  Mars’  Hill,  Athens. 


Fig.  274.  Fountain  in  the  Agora,  Corinth 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  99 


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Fig.  275.  Lintel  of  Jewish  Synagogue,  Corinth  (after  Richardson). 


Fig.  276.  Lechajum  Road,  Corinth  (after  Richardson) 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  100 


Fig.  277.  Parthenon,  Athens,  from  the  East. 


Fig.  278.  Main  Street  at  Ephesus, 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  101 


Fig.  279.  Site  of  the  Temple  of  Diana,  Ephesus,  in  1902. 


Fig.  280.  The  Theater,  Ephesus, 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  102 


I 


Fig.  281.  The  Amphitheater,  Ephesus. 


Fig.  282.  The  Stadium,  Ephesus, 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  103 


Fig.  283.  Pergamum  ( after  Ramsay). 


Fig.  284.  The  Acropolis  and  partly  Excavated  Temple,  Sardis  ( after  Butler) 


Abcileology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  104 


Fig.  285.  Excavated  Temple,  Sardis,  looking  toward  the  Hermus  Valley  ( after  Butler). 


Akchaology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  105 


Fig.  286.  A  Christian  Church  at  Sardis  ( after  Butler). 


Fig.  287.  Smyrna  (after  Ramsay) 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  106 


Fig.  288.  A  Ruin  at  Laodicea  ( after  Ramsay). 


Fig.  289.  A  Bridge  over  the  Jordan  on  the  Line  of  a  Roman  Road. 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  107 


Fig.  291.  Assyrian  Sacred  Tree  Conventionalized.  Fig.  293.  The  So-called  Adam  and  Eve  Seal. 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  108 


Fig.  294.  A  Tablet  from  Nippur,  Re¬ 
lating  the  Beginnings  of  Irrigation  and 
Agriculture  ( after  Langdon). 


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Fig.  295.  Tor  of  the  Black  Obelisk  of 
Shalmaneser. 


Fig.  296.  Jehu  of  Israel  Doing  Homage  to  Shalmaneser. 


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Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  109 


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Fig.  297.  The  Siloam  Inscription. 


Fig.  298.  Sennacherib  Receiving  Tribute  at  Lachish  (after  Ball). 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  110 


Fig.  299.  An  Altar  to  Unknown  Gods  {after  Deissmann),  Fig'.  300.  The  Moabite  Stone. 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  111 


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Fig.  301.  Papyrus  Containing  Sayings  of  Jesus  ( after  Grenfell  and  Hunt ) 


Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  111a 


Fig.  302.  Picture  of  Babylonian  Seal  {from  Revue  d’Assyriologie,  XIII,  6). 


Fig.  303.  Inscribed  Mosaic  of  Ain  Euk 


Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  112 


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Archaeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  113 


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Archeology  and  the  Bible 


Plate  114 


3  0112  054725533 


